April 02, 2025 - 7 min read
RCS available to all with IOS 18.4
Romain Didelot
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Introduction
The wait is finally over: Apple has activated RCS support with iOS 18, marking a major step forward in the standardization of messaging between iPhone and Android. In France, Orange and Sosh subscribers now benefit from this new messaging system, enabling richer, more interactive exchanges between users, regardless of their device. This development, originally announced by Apple for 2023, came to fruition with the release of iOS 18.4, offering all iPhone users a more modern alternative to traditional SMS .
But what does this really mean for mobile marketing? The RCS campaigns campaigns finally accessible to all smartphones? smsmode© sheds light on this revolution and its impact on brands.
What's in it for users?
- The RCS experience is now available to everyone with the definitive version of iOS 18.4 (available since April 1, 2025).
- In the US, Apple has also extended RCS compatibility to operators such as Google Fi and other MVNOs using the T-Mobile network.
Until now, hesitation on the part of Apple and certain operators to adopt RCS has been a real handicap to brand promotion. Without the Apple brand, campaigns were reduced to a small fraction of the available mobile base. But now, many millions of iPhone users can join Android users and take part in the experience.
iOS 18.4: RCS available for Orange and Sosh subscribers
With the release of iOS 18.4, Orange and Sosh customers in France can now enjoy the benefits of RCS on their iPhone. This update marks a major step forward in the standardization of messaging between different mobile operators and OSs (SFR had already taken the plunge with IOS 18 and Bouygues with IOS 18.2, editor's note).
How do I activate RCS on iPhone?
To activate RCS on an iPhone, subscribers to French operators (SFR, Free Mobile, Bouygues Telecom, and now Orange and Sosh) are just a click away. All you need to do is :
- Update iOS: Equip yourself with the latest version of iOS (18.4) by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
- Activate RCS: Once the update is complete, open the Messages application, access the service settings and activate RCS.
Among other things, the iPhone's adoption of RCS will enable support for encryption, high-resolution images and videos, read receipts, keystroke indicators and more. In short, Apple will enable users to share a similar messaging experience between the two systems, with the exception of RCS message bubbles, which will remain green, as SMS messages currently are on iPhone.
You can now test for yourself what a conversation initiated between an Android device and an iPhone with RCS looks like. Although some questions remain, such as the transcription of reactions between different phone models, the RCS experience on iPhone is now a reality.
Apple's choice
Apple has finally adopted RCS with iOS 18, a milestone eagerly awaited by mobile messaging players. This development strengthens interoperability between systems and broadens the scope of RCS, which is gaining in maturity as a communications platform. After years of waiting, iPhone users can now enjoy enriched messaging, with the exception of the color bubbles, which will remain green to differentiate RCS conversations from iMessages.
Among other things, the iPhone's adoption of RCS enables support for encryption, high-resolution images and videos, read receipts, keystroke indicators and more. In short, Apple is enabling users to share a similar messaging experience between the two systems, with the exception of RCS message bubbles, which will remain green, as SMS messages currently are on the iPhone. Of course, there are still a number of questions to be answered, such as the transcription of reactions from one phone model to another.
What this means for professional messaging
This full adoption brings with it a major development for the application-to-person (A2P) market: the merger, or at least compatibility, of RBM (RCS Business Messaging: the A2P channel of RCS) with AMB (Apple Messages for Business: the A2P channel of iMessage).
Like SMS and its professional version, the A2P and P2P versions of RCS and iMessage are different technologies. Separately, MBR and AMB don't have the reach of SMS or even other over-the-top (OTT) messaging channels like WhatsApp. Together, however, they have the potential to reach virtually all smartphone users.
The potential in the A2P world is enormous. The GSMA estimates that there will be 6.3 billion mobile subscribers by 2030, representing billions of business opportunities for brands. Companies could create compelling experiences with a single click, all without consumers switching apps.
Reminder: What is the RCS?
RCS (Rich Communication Services) is a messaging protocol that aims to replace SMS and MMS with a richer, more interactive experience. RCS enables users to send and receive text messages, images, videos, files, emojis, stickers, voice messages, video calls, group messages and much more. RCS works over the mobile network or wifi, and offers users features such as acknowledgements, input indicators, or end-to-end encryption.
Reminder: What is RBM?
RBM (RCS Business Messaging) is RCS at the service of brands and companies. It enables companies to communicate with their customers in a more personalized, engaging and effective way.
With RBM, you can create more creative, more interactive and more measurable campaigns. Your RBM campaigns allow you to integrate interactive elements into RCS messages, such as buttons, carousels, polls, forms and more. In this way, you can facilitate action, stimulate reaction, and foster loyalty.
The other major advantage of RBM is the possibility of adding a chatbot to your sessions. With it, you equip yourself with a powerful "conversational commerce" tool. A more innovative and useful service for your customers, enabling you to offer a new marketing experience with colossal conversion potential.
RBM is a new solution for mobile marketers, and an opportunity for them to personalize their messages according to the profile, behavior and preferences of their recipients. This means they can adapt the content, tone and timing of their messages to increase open rates, click-through rates and conversion rate.
Discover all the features of RCS
Find out about the different types of content messages and buttons integrated into the discussion thread, which are offered by the RBM: the RCS at the service of companies.
How to prepare your universal RBM strategy?
Companies need to adapt their marketing strategy to the RCS, taking into account the protocol's specific features and opportunities.
So define your objectives, target, message, budget, timetable, etc. And above all, test and optimize your campaigns using the data and feedback provided by RCS.
For an RCS campaign, the first thing to do is segment your contact lists according to their compatibility with the protocol. You'll need to know which users have a smartphone. This will enable you to send RCS messages to them, and SMS messages to other users.
RCS enables you to offer a more personalized, richer and more interactive messaging experience. You'll have two powerful levers to activate:
Conversion
By making it possible to offer more attractive, more relevant and more tailored offers to customers, RCS enables companies to increase conversion. Make it easy to take action, by integrating buttons, links, QR codes and more.
Measurement
Thanks to the precise, detailed data on deliverability, opens, clicks and conversions provided by the RCS protocol, you can better measure the effectiveness of your campaigns with RCS. Optimize your strategies, budgets and ROI with this valuable data.
Conclusion
RCS is a technology that has the potential to transform mobile marketing, offering a richer, more universal and more secure messaging experience. It's also a constantly evolving technology, which could integrate new features in the future, such as augmented reality or mobile payment, which would be yet another step towards a new world for mobile marketing.
Our webinar: "RCS, the ideal lever for customer relations".
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