iPhones now support RCS messaging on 16 US carriers, enabling features like read receipts and typing indicators. But some carriers are still holding out—find out if yours made the list.

Here’s the list of US carriers that now support RCS messaging on iPhones:

  • AT&T
  • C Spire
  • Consumer Cellular
  • Cricket
  • FirstNet
  • H20 Wireless
  • Metro by T-Mobile
  • PureTalk
  • Red Pocket
  • Spectrum
  • T-Mobile
  • TracFone / Straight Talk
  • US Cellular
  • Verizon
  • Visible
  • Xfinity Mobile
  • TonyOstrich@lemmy.world
    29·
    11 days ago

    And yet on Android Google hasn’t opened an API for any other app to use RCS, so users are forced to use the Google Messages app. It’s really irritating the hypocrisy.

    • MrTolkinghoen@lemmy.zipEnglish
      6·
      11 days ago

      Came to say this. It’s fucked up.

      And as a grapheme user, I can’t even use the Google Messages app for RCS. Which is even more crazy. It’s truly: give us complete control or else

      • TonyOstrich@lemmy.world
        3·
        11 days ago

        You frustration is born of a similar issue to mine. I’m running stock Android but rooted and I have to use two Magisk modules to obtain the ability to use RCS. However about once a month Google does something to break the ability to use RCS and I have to disable it for a day or two while the maintainers figure out a way around it.

        • MrTolkinghoen@lemmy.zipEnglish
          1·
          8 days ago

          Yeah. I mean. Fuck google. I’m frankly happier to not use yet another of their clearly walled garden products. But it is frustrating that it’s a walled garden. Esp when they’re pretending it’s not.

          I am well on my way to degoogling and this has only pushed me further faster.

  • Buffalobuffalo@reddthat.com
    11·
    11 days ago

    All this and I still have 2 regular group chats with android friends who’s phones are not using RCS. I went from feeling bad I have an iPhone to being annoyed their androids are not using RCS.

        • PrimeErective@startrek.website
          2·
          11 days ago

          Basically an early version of Wi-Fi calling before Wi-Fi calling was a thing. You signed up for a SIM-free phone number tied to your Google account that allowed you to make calls as long as you had Internet. Calls between US numbers were totally free, even if the Google voice person was in a different country

          Anyway, Google voice is still around and has an app. So if you have a Google voice number, you have a totally separate dialer and text message set up, that’s distinct from the one for your regular number. But, as I mentioned, the text message part still doesn’t support RCS. Pretty embarrassing for Google

    • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
      2·
      10 days ago

      I don’t really understand RCS. It’s supposed to be an open standard but unfortunately it’s only available in 1 of 2 Android apps, which are controlled by Samsung or Google. Personally, I don’t have a Google or Samsung account, and these don’t work without them.

      They could have just used the actually open standard they already used 10 years ago (XMPP) but for some reason they’ve found some other one that doesn’t appear to be very open.

  • hperrin@lemmy.caEnglish
    613·
    11 days ago

    RCS is so much better than SMS. All praise Apple for inventing such a wonderful thing. I just wish they’d invent some sort of port that I could plug headphones into.

      • kautau@lemmy.world
        8·
        11 days ago

        Probably because the article in no way has a tone of “hail apple” and instead is just informative about who can use RCS on which carriers on iPhones. It even says

        Previously, iPhone users were left out of the RCS party,

        So it’s not denying the fact that Apple didn’t previously support RCS. As pointed out in an above comment, you can only use RCS on Android through Google’s messages app, so it’s not like Android has been some bastion of open standards here, each corporation is driven by profit.