Starting Monday with the release of iOS 18, Apple is overhauling the iPhone messaging app to make your chats better in mixed company — when at least one Android phone user is involved. We’ve been testing the changes,

With RCS on iOS, you’ll get major improvements like high-resolution media, typing indicators, and read receipts when you’re texting with people on other phones that also support RCS. In its iOS 18 press release, Apple also highlights support for “more reliable group messaging compared to SMS and MMS.”

There’s read receipts, better group chats, and the little wiggles of validation. We have to accept iPhone and Android users will be separate.

Phones can now receive RCS messages, drastically improving the messaging experience between Android and iOS. Despite upgrades, green bubbles remain a designation for Android chats on iPhones. RCS encryption between Android and iPhone is not end-to-end,