Does Apple support RCS?

Quick answer

Yes, Apple supports RCS on iPhone. Apple added RCS to the Messages app starting with iOS 18.1 in late 2024, ending years of iPhone-only SMS/MMS fallback for messages to Android. In May 2026, iOS 26.5 added end-to-end encryption to cross-platform RCS by default (in beta), built on GSMA Universal Profile 3.0. Apple's RCS support depends on the carrier, and availability has been expanding country by country; the three major US carriers all support it, including the encrypted version.

Apple's support was the inflection point for RCS: it brought the standard to virtually all modern smartphones in markets like the US and triggered a major surge in RCS traffic. Apple still keeps iMessage as its own encrypted service for Apple-to-Apple chats, with RCS handling messages to Android and business senders.

Key facts

RCS on iPhone since iOS 18.1 (October 2024); carrier-dependent, expanding by country.
iOS 26.5 (May 11, 2026) enabled default cross-platform RCS end-to-end encryption (beta) via Universal Profile 3.0.
All three major US carriers support Apple's RCS, including encrypted RCS.

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Does Apple support RCS?

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