All Three Major U.S. Carriers and Google Adopt Rich Communication Services, But No Sign of Apple Interest

For the last several years, Google has been pushing a new communications protocol called Rich Communication Services, or RCS. ‌RCS‌ is designed to replace SMS, the current text message standard, and it offers support for higher resolution photos and videos, audio messages, bigger file sizes, better encryption, improved group chat, and more.

General Apps Messages
Verizon today announced that it is planning to adopt Messages by Google as its default messaging service on Android devices, joining AT&T and T-Mobile. That means all three major carriers in the United States will support the ‌RCS‌ standard on Android devices as of 2022.

As The Verge points out, this leaves Apple as the big ‌RCS‌ holdout, and there are benefits that iPhone users will miss out on.

When ‌RCS‌ sees a complete Android rollout, text messages on Android phones will be end-to-end encrypted. ‌iPhone‌ to ‌iPhone‌ communications are end-to-end encrypted thanks to iMessage, but with this change, texts between Android users and ‌iPhone‌ users will be less secure because of Apple's decision to continue to use SMS over ‌RCS‌.

Hiroshi Lockheimer, senior vice president of Android, told The Verge that Android vs. ‌iPhone‌ messaging security will become an important discussion with the wider adoption of ‌RCS‌. "The fallback messaging experience on the other platform will not have encryption if it's still SMS," he said. "I think that that is a pretty interesting dynamic and I would hope that as everyone focuses on security and privacy it becomes an important part of the discussion."

Lockheimer did not provide details on whether Google is discussing ‌RCS‌ with Apple, but Apple has been invited to adopt the ‌RCS‌ standard. Apple has declined to comment on ‌RCS‌, and there's no sign that Apple plans to adopt it in the near future.

Now that all three major carriers in the U.S. are supporting ‌RCS‌, Apple may be more inclined to consider the technology to make cross-platform messaging more secure.

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Battery Life Feature

iOS 26's New Battery Life Mode Available Only on These iPhone Models

Saturday June 21, 2025 9:02 am PDT by
Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode. Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer." The full description of...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

iPhone Driver's Licenses: These 17 U.S. States Offer Them or Will Later

Thursday June 19, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
ios 26 call holding

iOS 26 Beta is Hiding a New Ringtone — Here's What It Sounds Like

Thursday June 19, 2025 7:25 pm PDT by
Apple is hiding a new ringtone within iOS 26. The new ringtone is an alternative version of the existing Reflection ringtone, which has been the default ringtone since the iPhone X was released in 2017. It was discovered within the code for the first developer beta of iOS 26, but it remains hidden, so you will not find it in the list of ringtones available in the Settings app for now. It...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adding Two New Wi-Fi Features, Allows AirDrop and AirPlay Alternatives

Saturday June 21, 2025 7:02 am PDT by
iOS 26 is gaining two new Wi-Fi features, including Captive Assist and Wi-Fi Aware. MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris discovered a reference to Captive Assist within the code for the first iOS 26 developer beta, but Apple has yet to enable the feature. It should be available by the time the software update is released later this year. In his Power On newsletter last month, Bloomberg's...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 21, 2025 2:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices from credible sources. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro's Alleged Vapor Chamber Cooling System Partly Revealed

Sunday June 22, 2025 6:37 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models are rumored to be equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, and a leaker known as Majin Bu today shared a photo of an alleged copper thermal plate for the system. Many high-end Android smartphones like Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra are equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, which can manage heat dissipation inside the...
airpods 4 blue

Apple Offering Free AirPods — Here's How to Get Them

Tuesday June 17, 2025 6:33 am PDT by
Apple is running a new promotion that offers free AirPods to qualifying customers. Now through September 30, college and university students in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Singapore can receive free AirPods 4 when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. AirPods Pro 2 are also available at a discount. If you do not want AirPods, the promotion also offers various other...

Top Rated Comments

CouldBeWorse Avatar
51 months ago
Apple using RCS with end-to-end encryption as a fallback instead of SMS would be a good thing for iPhone and Android users.
Score: 57 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Deguello Avatar
51 months ago

RCS may be more secure, but it certainly won't be more private. Google with retain every communication, as it does with every other piece of information it has access to.
It’s a protocol and it won’t all go through google any more than your SMS messages do now.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
triptolemus Avatar
51 months ago

RCS may be more secure, but it certainly won't be more private. Google with retain every communication, as it does with every other piece of information it has access to.
So you just blew right past the encrypted part and went for Google FUD?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Deguello Avatar
51 months ago

It’s not a standard, it’s a protocol Google advocates, why would you expect Apple to help with making its competitor’s technology a standard? Apple has its own technology that it wants to make an industry standard, Google doesn’t help with any of those, either.
Apple has purposefully not ported imessage to android specifically to aid in lock-in to Apple. What technology here are you talking about that Apple wants to make a standard?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kjvmartin Avatar
51 months ago
Not holding my breath. Apple is slow to do anything.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CPx Avatar
51 months ago
Do it, Apple!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)