IPHONE owners are about to see a major change to the way they text in 2024, and experts “never thought they’d see it happen”.
From next year everyone will be able to message each other with advanced features regardless of whether they have an iPhone or an Android device.
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Starting “later next year,” Apple have said they will add RCS support to the iPhone.
But that doesn’t mean Apple is giving out the keys to its prized iMessage just yet.
The iPhone maker says it will finally adopt the same messaging standard as Android.
That means you’ll get many iMessage-like features such as typing indicators, read receipts, higher-resolution photo/video sharing, etc.
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After the groundbreaking news, one tech whizz at Digital Trends wrote: “Today is a day I truly didn’t expect would ever happen.”
It’s officially known as RCS, which is a richer alternative to the traditional SMS text message – you need data or Wi-Fi to send and receive them.
The move appears to come in response to an upcoming new EU law that forces big companies like Apple to ensure their services work across different devices.
In a statement sent to 9to5Mac, an Apple spokesperson clarified the changes.
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They said: “Later next year, we will be adding support for RCS Universal Profile, the standard as currently published by the GSM Association.
“We believe RCS Universal Profile will offer a better interoperability experience when compared to SMS or MMS.
“This will work alongside iMessage, which will continue to be the best and most secure messaging experience for Apple users.”
But the tech giant made it clear that the change doesn’t mean iMessage is disappearing.
Apple is very much still keeping iMessage as its own thing, so we can assume that RCS chats will still be visually different from iMessage ones.
In other words, the blue bubble vs green bubble texting divide – in which Android users are outed with a green bubble while iPhone messages are in blue ones – won’t be going away anytime soon.
“Later next year, we will be adding support for RCS Universal Profile, the standard as currently published by the GSM Association,” they said.
“We believe RCS Universal Profile will offer a better interoperability experience when compared to SMS or MMS.
“This will work alongside iMessage, which will continue to be the best and most secure messaging experience for Apple users.”
Of course, Google-owned Android is delighted by the development.
“We believe everyone deserves to communicate inclusively no matter what phone they have,” the company said.
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“This is one huge step closer to doing that.
“Excited for Apple to embrace RCS, the modern industry standard, to help make messaging better for everyone.”
