Apple announces that RCS support is coming to iPhone next year

Apple announced that it will adopt the RCS messaging standard for iPhone through a software update "later next year," bringing iMessage-style features such as read receipts, typing indicators and high-quality media to messages between iPhone and Android users. In a statement to 9to5Mac, an Apple spokesperson said the company believes RCS will offer better interoperability for cross-platform messages. Apple says RCS will run alongside iMessage, which remains its platform for communication between iPhone users, and that SMS and MMS will remain available as a fallback. Apple also says RCS does not currently support encryption as strong as iMessage, and that it will work with GSMA members to improve RCS security.