In March, Apple stated that it deliberate so as to add help for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages to the Messages app in future iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS software program updates, and we’re nonetheless ready for that to occur. As of the third developer beta of iOS 26 launched this week, the improve has but to be applied on iPhones.

Finish-to-end encryption for RCS was introduced in March, as a part of version 3.0 of the RCS Universal Profile, a world commonplace for RCS options and specs. Which means Apple has not directly confirmed that it’ll help RCS Common Profile 3.0, which incorporates not solely end-to-end encryption for RCS, however a number of different iMessage-like enhancements for RCS that had been initially launched in RCS‌ Common Profile 2.7.

Listed here are 5 new capabilities to anticipate for RCS conversations on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, as soon as Apple rolls out help for RCS Common Profile 3.0:

• Finish-to-end encryption, which can stop Apple and every other third get together from with the ability to learn messages and attachments whereas they’re being despatched between units, as has all the time been the case with iMessage
• In-line replies
• Edit messages
• Unsend messages
• Full-fledged Tapback help for RCS messages, with no particular workarounds

RCS help as an entire was added to the iPhone with iOS 18, which helps ‌RCS‌ Common Profile 2.4. It’s successfully a modernized model of the SMS commonplace, which stays obtainable as a fallback possibility for textual content messages over a mobile community.

RCS can be taking part in meet up with iMessage in some ways. iMessage conversations with blue bubbles have already supported end-to-end encryption by default since iOS 5. As well as, iMessage has supported in-line replies since iOS 14, whereas the choices to edit and unsend iMessages had been launched with iOS 16.

It appears probably that Apple will roll out these RCS upgrades sooner or later through the iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and watchOS 26 software program cycle.