Apple will implement RCS messaging in iPhones in 2024, as a software update later in the year. Last year, the idea of Apple supporting RCS was dismissed by CEO Tim Cook, citing a lack of customer demand, but pressure for Apple to implement RCS has been mounting.
Apple isn’t sharing the reasons for the change of heart, but messaging is much more advanced these days, and despite Apple’s historic heel-digging, SMS/MMS interconnection for advance messaging was clearly becoming unsustainable. For the first time there are more RCS devices than iPhones. And European Union legislation was going to include Apple’s iMessage service in its list of gatekeepers, with a specific request to offer messaging interconnection. Apple was looking at being forced to introduce an RCS-like service regardless of its internal views.
However, there will be no move away from iMessage; the Apple-to-Apple messaging platform is definitely here to stay. But, regardless of the lowkey nature of Apple’s announcement, and even if it’s not exactly surprising, this is big news.
Users
Compatibility issues between iOS and other systems have been an irritant for many users for some time, with Apple users trying to reach a different OS smartphone having to drop to SMS or MMS when attempting to include a picture. RCS will bring better person-to-person messages.
SMS is a true universal service, and it still has a unique role to play in the industry – it is not going to die. However, there will an inevitable and profound reduction of personal messages. There are a few countries (including the USA and Canada) that report higher year-on-year SMS traffic, but globally the number of SMS messages sent is sure to diminish.
Even when the new upgrade arrives (it’s likely the update will come with the next version of iOS expected in September), Apple users will still be sending iMessages to other iPhones, but they will be able to send superior standard messages to non-iOS devices. As the smartphone Venn diagram shifts, an increased overlap will see sharing of clearer pictures and videos, read receipts, typing information, and users will be able to share location and some files easier. Additionally, users won’t be charged per message (as they are for SMS and MMS), instead only being charged for data, which can be accessed using WiFi and is often part of a smartphone bundle.
OTT apps
The question of demand is an interesting one. Although there has not been a loud and sustained vocal demand for RCS, people have been downloading apps such as WhatsApp, Viber or Signal. Users have voted with their thumbs for advanced multimedia messaging; billions of OTT apps have been downloaded. The fragmentation between the default messaging apps for Android and iPhones has created winners in the shape of alternative over the top apps that, thanks to a global base and a cross device service consistency, have been providing a more consistent experience. Apple’s announcement is too late to present a serious challenge to WhatsApp - already well established in Europe, Latin America and parts of Asia - so any sleepless nights over Apple’s RCS announcement will be few and far between. That being said, if Google and Apple were to back the service for deeper device integration in the future, that may pose a challenge for Meta and other messaging companies.
Business messaging
It’s fair to say that the industry has become something close to obsessed with the idea of Apple’s support of RCS services. And in the RCS camp, there is a sense of euphoria; there is plenty for them to be happy about. Without some real personal messages, the RCS inbox was heading towards becoming a SPAM box. SMS personal traffic has been dwindling, leaving the universal messaging platform to be the host of advertising, reminders and one-time passwords. A strong person-to-person service is a necessary complement to business services that are now a main source of revenue. Without the presence of personal messages, opening rates will plummet, along with the return on investment of campaigns.
While Apple’s announcement is good news, we shouldn’t think it is the answer to all the problems and challenges facing RCS. There is still work to be done in RBM.
The RCS channel requires sharpening for business messaging. RCS is local - bureaucratic in places - with patchy support from operators, and, in comparison to simpler OTT offers, pricing is complex. A great opportunity has come along, but the RBM industry has some catching up to do, and it can’t blame external factors now.
The Communication Platforms will still have to be able to show their worth and orchestrate business messaging across the different Apple, Google and Meta platforms. This is a great opportunity to create value, but not all players are technically ready to manage campaigns seamlessly. Besides the different commercial models, the real challenge is to manage this adaptation gracefully, efficiently and at scale.
