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Apple revealed it will add a new messaging standard late next year so Android owners can use some iMessage features. Photo/Daily Mail
LONDON – Apple revealed it will add a new messaging standard late next year so Android owners can use some iMessage features. This change will allow iPhone and Android users to experience the same messaging features.
The update, first revealed by 9to5Mac, is also Apple’s way of meeting the demands of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act released in 2020. This regulation forces companies like Apple to provide services on all platforms – even its competitor Android.
Apple will add support for the RCS (Rich Communication Services) standard in a software update late next year. These changes will allow both operating systems to experience read receipts, typing indicators, and better media sharing.
In a statement to 9to5 Mac, an Apple spokesperson said late next year it will add support for RCS Universal Profile, a standard currently published by the GSM Association. RCS Universal Profile will offer a better interoperability experience compared to SMS or MMS.
“This will work alongside iMessage, which will continue to be the best and safest messaging experience for Apple users,” Apple said in a statement quoted by SINDOnews from the Daily Mail page, Sunday (19/11/2023).
Google rolled out RCS to its US customers in 2019, including reading receipts, typing indicators, and using WiFi to send messages. The move is to compete with iMessage and Facebook Messenger, but those standards are not compatible with Apple messaging.
With this RCS update, Apple is not inviting Android users to the platform but adding RCS separately. RCS was designed to replace the short message (SMS) standard and has been in development since 2007 with the help of trade body the Global Systems for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA).
A 9to5 Mac report states that Apple has delayed implementing RCS for more than a year. Even as Google and others have pressured iPhone makers to adopt the technology.
(wib)
