RCS on iPhone iOS 18.5: A Major Tweak in Messaging is Now a Lot Closer Than Ever!
A feeling of pleasant excitement – after months of greedy anticipation, the wait is finally over! The launch of RCS on iPhone alongside the release of iOS 18.5 has brought an ebullient of excitement.
If you’ve been craving a more enriched and interactive messaging experience on your iPhone and Android devices, your wish has been granted.
Imagine if SMS text messaging were designed today — it probably wouldn’t be bound by a plain text 160-character limit and wouldn’t be required to send MMS just to share pictures.
Instead, we now have Rich Communication Services (RCS), an API standard messaging protocol fit for today’s smartphone era, presenting interactive rich media ads, one-tab buttons, and transmitting values through branded messaging for businesses. But what exactly is RCS messaging, and why is its popularity all-time high lately? ✌️
RCS, or Rich Communication Services, has been with us since 2006, but now, it’s really taking off successfully. RCS has begun its journey with worldwide Android users — there has been a highly touted RCS since its inception, creating buzzing hype across the tech industry. RCS acts up to a promise: come up with a smarter messaging, fully encrypted, and incredibly interactive.
What Is RCS, and What Reasons Behind iPhone Users Being Happy with It?
RCS is a default text app that offers a level of messaging similar to iMessage, but now the app’s facility extends the approach to Android users as well (cross-platform compatibility).
This innovation isn’t merely a personalized medium on a big new digital chatting platform; it’s a way up to more latest version with an interactive business tool for engaging application-to-person (A2P) messaging.
Apple is rolling out the seamless integration of RCS for Business in iOS 18.5, brands can now interact with customers in dynamic, secure, and highly engaging ways directly within their mobile messaging inboxes on two versions of OS compatibility – both Android and Apple devices. The leading feature of RCS is that users don’t feel the need to use any third-party app.
On the RCS chat, you get:
- Real-time Typing indicators
- “Typing” or “read” receipts
- Higher text limits
- Send bigger files
- HD photo and video sharing
- Branded sender ID displays
- Roundup group chats and reactions
- End-to-end encryption supported chat, voice, and video calls
Although Android users have enjoyed the benefits of RCS for some time, these functionalities were limited when texting iPhone users. But with the introduction of RCS support in iOS 18.5, iPhone users can now use RCS without any prerequisite for most MVNO customers.
The adoption of RCS for Business on iOS is uniformly rising, with industry-wide support; the service availability depends on carrier adoption and regional support. As more carriers adopt RCS, businesses now feel more power to connect with a growing audience of iPhone users through engaging and visually appealing messages that exceed the limitations of traditional SMS.
GoLite Mobile users can now access RCS thanks to iOS 18.5!
The long-awaited launch of the iOS 18.5 update has predicted the full-fledged support of RCS for iPhone users on the Golite Mobile network.
For existing Golite Mobile customers, allowing RCS is as simple as updating your iPhone and activating RCS in your settings, and no additional setup or applications are required.
This signifies a big victory for iPhone users engaging in cross-platform messaging with friends and family on Android, and giving a promising, more vibrant, secure, and modern messaging experience.
New iOS 18.5 now has larger RCS support!
Apple’s incessant promise to enhance RCS support over the course of iOS 18’s update lifecycle has culminated in the significant expansion of RCS compatibility with the release of iOS 18.5 in early 2025, and giving key features of RCS messaging chat functionality to users of other U.S. carriers.
No third-party app is required!
The joy of RCS messaging lies down in its direct delivery of interactive experiences to users’ native mobile messaging inboxes on both Android and Apple devices, so it eliminates the need for any external applications.
For users, RCS offers rich chat features, while for businesses, it serves as a gateway to delivering sophisticated, brand-centric experiences directly to their customers’ text inboxes.
This could be used in order to confirm with map integrations, dynamic product galleries, brand-compliant ad campaigns, and full two-way interactions with live customer chat support to reduce churn rates.
Because most businesses can toil up by making users download and constantly usage of mobile apps, RCS bridges the gap between SMS and instant messaging apps like WhatsApp by seamlessly integrating app-like functionalities like AI-powered personalized experiences, instant engagement, and more interactive features.
In 2025, RCS boasts an impressive user base of over 1.5 billion monthly active users, with its user adoption rates continually growing, thanks to the relentless support from Apple and mobile operators.
How to turn ON or OFF RCS on your iPhone iOS 18.5?
Apple finally got RCS to iPhone iOS 18.5.
If your carrier supports RCS, here’s how to make sure it’s working on your iPhone.
- Open and tap the settings app.
- Tap Messages settings.
- Tap RCS Chats.
- Turn RCS Chat on or off.
How to turn ON or OFF RCS business messaging on your iPhone iOS 18.5?
Through RCS messaging, some businesses can notify their clients of order and payment updates. It’s possible to turn OFF & ON RCS messaging.
- Open and tap the settings app.
- Tap Messages settings.
- Tap RCS Chats.
- Turn the RCS business chat on or off.
You can flag a message as junk upon receipt. First, tap “Report Junk” in your conversation; then tap “Delete and Report Junk.”
The introduction of RCS on iPhone with iOS 18.5 marks a significant landmark. This technology upgrade on Apple iOS 18.5 is getting rid of the older SMS landscape. So users can send texts, high-res images, HD videos, web links, and more. This has brought a modern, secure, and interactive experience to users across platforms.
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