With the launch of iOS 18, iPhone users are finally able to exchange rich text messages with their Android counterparts. But beyond Apple's support of RCS, each carrier needs to activate the capability -- and for now, many carriers have yet to jump on the bandwagon.

On Monday, Apple’s iOS 18 update replaced SMS with RCS messaging for texts sent to users on Android. While the change doesn’t get rid of the green bubbles, it will finally allow cross-platform users to share high-res media, as well as see read receipts and typing indicators. But Apple’s implementation of RCS is missing one key feature: E2EE.

The GSM Association (GSMA), the organization responsible for developing the Rich Communication Services (RCS) standard, announced on Tuesday that

The talking iPhone and Pixel are back, as Google congratulates Apple on (finally) joining the RCS messaging party.

RCS messaging is finally coming to iPhones via iOS 18. But not every carrier currently supports it. Here's how to find out if yours does.

We've finally made it past the finish line, folks. The day is here, and at long last, the iPhone-to-Android messaging experience is about to get a whole lot better thanks to Apples (likely-reluctant) inclusion of RCS in iMessage.

You can enable RCS messaging on iPhones running iOS 18 or later. Once you install iOS 18 on your phone, you'll need to enable RCS in your messaging settings. You'll also have to check if your carrier supports the RCS protocol or not.