A better texting experience is coming soon to all.^*

Rich Communication Services is the modern industry standard for messaging that allows for more secure and dynamic chats. It’s supported by most carriers and over 500 Android device manufacturers, and Apple recently announced they’re joining in and adopting RCS too.

Not yet. Apple doesn’t currently support RCS broadly, but at their WWDC event in June they announced RCS Messaging Support. Once it’s here, we encourage everyone with an iPhone to update their OS as soon as they can, and for Android users to encourage their iPhone friends too — it’ll make everyone’s texting experience better 🙂

Right now, the messaging experience between iOS and Android is broken. Images and videos show up pixelated on iPhones, iOS group chats don’t support Android users coming or going, and there are no typing indicators, read receipts, or any other rich interactions. When Apple adopts RCS, you’ll be able to send high-quality images and videos, enter, leave and rename group chats, and even see read receipts. While we look forward to seeing more features launch in the future, even this set will make the texting experience between Android and iPhone users significantly better.

If you’re an Android user, you already benefit from RCS. When Apple adopts RCS, there is no action required from Android users. If you’re an iPhone user, you will need to follow iPhone instructions.

Green text bubbles are how Apple displays your messages when you’re texting with someone who doesn’t have an iPhone (or someone with iMessage disabled).