China forced Apple to add RCS support to iPhones: Report
In a surprising turn of events, Apple last year revealed plans to support Rich Communication Services (RCS) on iPhones starting in the latter half of 2024. While some believed the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) influenced this change, John Gruber of Daring Fireball has suggested that China played a key role in Apple's decision. He stated that a potential law in China requiring all new 5G phones to support RCS is the driving force behind the iPhone maker's move.
Chinese government's stance on RCS
Chinese carriers have been pushing for RCS for years, and the Chinese government is now considering making it a legal requirement for 5G device certification. Gruber's sources confirmed that Apple's support for RCS is primarily driven by China's regulatory requirements. As China is the world's largest smartphone market and Apple faces competition from Huawei there, the company feels compelled to comply with this potential legislation.
European Union's Digital Markets Act
Contrary to some narratives, the European Union's DMA does not specifically mention RCS and has no direct influence on Apple's decision to support it. The DMA focuses on other aspects, such as allowing iPhone users in the 27 EU member states to sideload apps, use alternative browser engines, and let developers link their apps to alternative in-app payment platforms. Apple's RCS support is primarily a response to China's potential legislation rather than the DMA.
Cross-platform messaging benefits
RCS offers features like read receipts, typing indicators, end-to-end encryption, high-quality images, and longer messages, currently limited to iPhone-to-iPhone or Android-to-Android chats with RCS users. With RCS support on iPhones, messaging between iPhone and Android users will see a significant improvement. Presently, these conversations rely on outdated SMS texts, which limit message length and result in low-quality image sharing. Once Apple supports RCS, cross-platform chats will benefit from several features listed above.
