iPhone 16 is here, but I’m hyped for just one reason: RCS on iOS 18

It’s that time of year again, folks. As the tech world has sights set on the latest Apple event that is producing the new iPhone 16 as we speak, we all know we’ll be seeing slightly improved phones, some impressive specs, and a few ‘innovative” or “magic” new features from Apple. For me, however, the real win with new iPhones comes down to a new version of iOS and RCS support finally coming along with it.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I appreciate a well-crafted smartphone as much as the next person. But when it comes to the iPhone event, I’m less interested in titanium, “Apple Intelligence” or the camera’s megapixel count and more excited about the prospect of seamless, cross-platform messaging.

RCS is finally arriving for iPhone users

For too long, we’ve been living in a fragmented messaging world. Android users enjoy the rich features and functionality of RCS, while iPhone users are stuck in the past with the antiquated SMS/MMS standard that is forced on them by iMessage. It’s led to division that simply isn’t necessary, but with iOS 18 on the near horizon, that’s all about to change.

RCS on iPhone means a level playing field for messaging. We’re talking high-quality photos and videos, read receipts, typing indicators, group chats that actually work, and so much more. No, green bubbles won’t go away, but their inclusion in chats should be far less divisive as iPhone users realize there’s a usable messaging platform outside of iMessage and that Android phones won’t destroy their chats any longer.

It’ll take time, for sure, but as iOS 18 rolls out and cross-platform messaging via iMessage becomes far more robust, it’ll make it far more frictionless for Android and iOS users to communicate moving forward. The entirety of the division is ignorance on a grand scale, and I’m very happy to see it generally solved moving forward.

So while the world is busy deciding whether or not the latest iPhone is worth updating to, I’ll be over here waiting for that iOS 18 update to hit my friends’ and family’s devices so I can send images and videos without thinking about it again. Being able to message my family via Google Messages on my Chromebook without concerns of images or videos looking terrible on their end will be a game changer, and one that has frankly taken too long to get here.