Blue and green bubbles are finally uniting: Apple introduces RCS support for messaging between iPhone and Android

Regulators and competitors, primarily Google and Samsung, have long pressed Apple to switch to the RCS (Rich Communication Services) messaging standard so that Android smartphone and iPhone owners can communicate normally. Google even launched a large-scale advertising campaign, not missing the opportunity to troll the competitor. And now the day has come - Apple has finally given up.

Here's What We Know

Apple today unexpectedly announced that RCS support will arrive on the iPhone next year along with a software update, bringing a wide range of iMessage-style features for messaging between iPhone and Android users.

However, iMessage (and likely green bubbles) aren't going anywhere. iMessage will remain the messaging platform for iPhone users, and RCS will exist separately. This means that Apple isn't opening up iMessage to other platforms at all, it's just creating a few separate variants. Incidentally, SMS and MMS will also still be available as a fallback option when needed.

"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", the company said in a statement.

The manufacturer assures that iMessage is much more secure and provides privacy better than RCS.

Source: 9to5Mac