Apple would like to support RCS on iPhones in the fall of this year. This is evident from a now-deleted Google website. It was already known that Apple wanted to add RCS to iMessage this year, but it was not yet known when.
The information was temporarily on the Google Messages website. “Apple has announced that it plans to implement RCS in the fall of 2024. Once that happens, everyone will have a better chat experience,” Google wrote, alongside a temporary placeholder text where an image should go. Presumably that information went online too early. The information can still be viewed via the Wayback Machine.
It was already known that Apple would support the Rich Communication Services protocol. At the end of last year, the company said it wanted to do this in 2024, but did not specify a timeframe at the time. Tweakers previously wrote a background article about why Apple now wants to allow RCS on the iPhone. RCS is seen as the successor to SMS and makes it possible to send messages with images and formatting, but Apple, of all people, refused to support the protocol for a long time. This is likely happening because of the Digital Markets Act, which forces Apple to open up its platforms, including iMessage, to competing services.
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