Let’s talk about texting between iPhones and Androids – you know, the green bubble situation. Apple’s always been a bit slow to jump on board with universal messaging standards, but that’s changing with iOS 18.4. They’re finally rolling out support for RCS (Rich Communication Services) in the Messages app, which is a big step towards making conversations between iPhones and Android phones feel less disconnected.
This update is especially good news if you use carriers like Boost Mobile, Google Fi, Metro by T-Mobile, Mint Mobile, Tello, Ultra Mobile, US Mobile, and others that piggyback on T-Mobile’s network. Now, when you text an Android user who also has RCS, your experience gets a lot better. Think high-quality photos and videos (no more blurry messes!), seeing when someone is typing, getting read receipts, and even using those tapback reactions. It’s a welcome fix for a long-running frustration many users felt with basic, old-school SMS.
For years, iPhone users often felt like their chats with Android friends were stuck in the past. Android users already had the richer RCS features, making iPhone-to-Android texting feel basic by comparison. The key difference is that RCS works over the internet, just like iMessage or WhatsApp, meaning media doesn’t get squashed down like it does with MMS. So, with iOS 18.4, Apple isn’t just playing catch-up; its bringing these modern texting perks to many more people, including those on carriers who were initially left out.
Now, here’s an important heads-up: while this is a great functional upgrade, the RCS messages on iPhones aren’t end-to-end encrypted right now. That’s a bit different from Apple’s super-private iMessage and might be a concern if security is your top priority. Still, even without that encryption, RCS is a huge improvement over plain SMS. It’s worth noting that Google (whose Fi service now works with iPhone RCS, as seen in testing) has been a big supporter of this standard. Getting Apple, Google, and the mobile industry group GSMA on the same page was needed to make this cross-platform improvement happen.
Want to turn it on? It’s pretty simple. Once you’ve updated your iPhone to iOS 18.4, just head over to Settings > tap Apps > go into Messages. You should see a toggle for RCS Messaging under the Text Messaging section. Flip that switch on! It might take a few moments to get going, but you’ll notice the difference when texting Android users – clearer media and a more interactive chat.
This hasn’t been an overnight change. When Apple first dipped its toes into RCS with iOS 18, it was mostly limited to customers on the big US carriers with postpaid plans. Many people using Google Fi or other similar providers had to wait. These latest updates finally bring RCS to a much wider group, letting more people enjoy those modern messaging features like better media sharing, typing bubbles, and read receipts, making texting feel much more current. It’s more than just a feature update; it signals that the whole industry is slowly moving away from basic SMS towards richer, internet-based messaging.
