For years, Rich Communication Services (RCS) was the channel everyone in the US talked about, but very few could use it at any real scale. Now it seems that things have changed. Here’s what you need to know about the shift, the numbers behind it, and why RCS now deserves a place in the messaging mix.

First, let’s set the scene

If you’ve ever sent a group text that turned into a pixelated mess the moment an Android user joined, you’ve come face-to-face with the limits of Short Message Service (SMS). For a long time, a fix existed, but it only worked on half of America's mobiles. RCS, the modern replacement for SMS, only lived on Android, while iPhones stuck to plain SMS for anyone outside the Apple ecosystem.


That gap is why so many US brands parked their RCS plans. Building a rich, interactive campaign made little sense if it would only reach Android users in a market where the iPhone is the majority handset.

But what actually is RCS? 

Think of RCS as SMS 2.0. It runs inside a phone’s default messaging app, so there are no new apps to convince people to download. Where SMS allows 160 characters of plain text, RCS gives you high-resolution images and videos, read receipts, typing indicators, group chats that behave, and, for brands, verified sender names, logos, suggested replies, and tappable buttons.


It’s also carrier-managed, which means businesses are checked and verified, giving people more confidence that a message isn’t a scam. In short, RCS brings the app-like experience people expect from iMessage or WhatsApp to the humble text inbox, across both major platforms.

The numbers that changed the math

Two things had to be true for RCS to make sense in the US: the iPhone had to support it, and enough iPhones had to be running a version that does.

The iPhone is not a niche in the US – it’s the default. Roughly 57% of US smartphone users are on iPhone, with around 150.7 million active iPhone users. Of the three largest carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon), the iPhone made up about 75% of smartphone sales in the first quarter of 2026. Any channel that cannot reach iPhone users is missing most of the market.

RCS support landed on the iPhone with iOS 18 in September 2024. By June 2025, Apple's own figures put iOS 18 on 82% of all active iPhones, and 88% of iPhones released in the previous four years. Because RCS support carried forward into every release after iOS 18, the practical takeaway is simple: the overwhelming majority of active US iPhones can now send and receive RCS.

The behaviour backs it up. RCS for Business arrived on iPhone with iOS 18.1 in October 2024, and the iOS 18.4 update in March 2025 expanded carrier support to include a longer list of US networks. Globally, more than a billion people now use RCS. The standard carried roughly 1.5 trillion messages in 2024, a figure forecast to quadruple to around 6 trillion by 2029.

What makes RCS different from other channels?

This is the question worth sitting with, because RCS is not simply "another channel". Here’s how it stacks up to the options you already use.

Vs. SMS and MMS: SMS is reliable and universal, but blunt. 160 characters, no rich media, no read receipts, no branding, and no interactivity. RCS keeps the reach of the native inbox and adds everything SMS lacks.

Vs. iMessage: iMessage is lovely, but it is Apple-only and closed to brands. You cannot run a business campaign through it, and it never reaches Android. RCS works across both platforms and is open to verified senders.

Vs. WhatsApp and other apps: WhatsApp is enormous, but it requires the customer to have the app and opt in, and US adoption sits well below iMessage and SMS. RCS needs no download – it’s already right there in the messaging app.

The short version: RCS combines the native, no-download reach of SMS with the rich, interactive feel of an app, and it works whether your customer is holding an iPhone or an Android.

And it’s now encrypted, too

The last common objection to RCS was security. Until recently, cross-platform RCS messages were only protected in transit, not end-to-end – a genuine gap next to apps like WhatsApp and Signal.

That gap closed in May 2026. On 11 May, Apple and Google began rolling out end-to-end encryption for RCS messages between iPhone and Android. It is built on Universal Profile 3.0, the standard set by the GSMA (the global body that governs RCS). It is switched on by default, and a small lock icon now shows people when a conversation is protected. It is the first large-scale messaging service to offer interoperable end-to-end encryption across different apps.

So, should RCS be on your radar?

For US brands, the calculation that used to end with "but it only reaches Android" no longer holds. The iPhone supports RCS, adoption of RCS-capable iOS is effectively universal among active iPhones, the business tools are live, and the channel is now encrypted by default. That is a rare combination: a messaging channel with the reach of SMS, the richness of an app, verified-sender trust built in, and no download standing between you and your customer.

It is still early, and carrier coverage varies, so RCS is a "start testing and learning" channel rather than a "rip out SMS tomorrow" one. But the reasons to wait have quietly run out.

If you have been keeping RCS in the "maybe next year" pile, it’s time to take it out and have a proper look.