Google rejoices: Apple will finally embrace RCS, “SMS 2.0,” in 2024

After being conspicuously ignored for years, Apple will finally support the Rich Communications Services protocol, abbreviated RCS, in 2024. Apple has announced it to everyone 9to5Mac From a short press release:

Over the next year, we will add support for the Global RCS Profile, the standard currently published by the GSM Association. We believe that a global RCS profile will provide a better interoperability experience compared to SMS or MMS.

Googlers must be sipping champagne in Mountain View, having lobbied hard for years for Apple to adopt the technology. RCS, which was rolled out nearly five years ago on Android, is in a way SMS 2.0. This standard enables the exchange of messages and content through modern functions that SMS and MMS lack: HD quality, group chat, Wi-Fi operation, configuration indicator, etc.

In short, by integrating RCS into iOS, Apple will improve instant conversations with Android smartphones, something Google claims whenever the opportunity arises.

This is a stunning turnaround, as Tim Cook confirmed last year that he had not done so “I didn’t hear much [ses] Users [lui] Ask to put in a lot of energy [sur RCS]. » In response to the journalist who lamented that her mother, equipped with an Android smartphone, could not see the videos she sent him from her iPhone, the Apple chief responded: “Buy your mom an iPhone!” »

But RCS doesn’t sign the end of iMessage. In its statement, Apple specifies the following: ” [RCS] It will run alongside iMessage, which will continue to be the best and most secure messaging experience for Apple users. » From what we understand, RCS should be integrated into a messaging application, like SMS and MMS are today. Will the new protocol put an end to the distinction between green bubbles (SMS) and blue bubbles (iMessage), as Google has wanted for years? Or will it instead add a third bubble color? It’s still too early to know.

This recovery may be the result of increasingly strong pressure from competition and regulatory authorities. The European Commission is currently considering whether iMessage should undergo DMA and thus become interoperable with WhatsApp and Messenger. RCS support is not synonymous with opening iMessage to competition, and Apple stresses that it will be a parallel system, but this change in messaging in favor of interoperability between platforms could satisfy the regulator.

Even if it means adopting RCS, Apple has indicated that it will collaborate with other members of the GSMA to improve the protocol, especially regarding confidentiality. Because if Google’s implementation manages end-to-end encryption, this is not the case for the standard itself. iMessage remains superior on this point and will increase its lead in terms of security by verifying the power switch available from iOS 17.2.