In a surprising move, Apple has announced today that it will adopt the RCS (Rich Communication Services) messaging standard. The feature will launch via a software update “later next year” and bring a wide range of iMessage-style features to messaging between iPhone and Android users.

Apple’s decision comes amid pressure from regulators and competitors like Google and Samsung. It also comes as RCS has continued to develop and become a more mature platform than it once was.

  • N-E-N
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    292 years ago

    This is great but surprising news. Hopefully the implementation is actually good

    • kirklennon
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      102 years ago

      They’re going to implement the open standard … which isn’t what most Android users are actually using. Does Google’s Messages app gracefully transition to the RCS standard if that’s what the other person is using?

      • N-E-N
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        102 years ago

        No idea but, I suspect that Apple will have some negotiating power here, hopefully weakening Google’s control and making it mostly open