Apple aims to bridge the messaging gap but retains the characteristic green bubbles.

Hopes have risen that the era of green and blue message bubbles on iPhones might eventually come to an end.

Nowadays, only the sent iMessges appear with blue bubbles.

Apple announces its support for new message standard and interoperability program, which are set to boost the texting ease.

However, it will be business as usual for the green-blue bubble divide as even messages from android phones will show up as green bubbles.

From 2024, the company intends to provide RCS support on iPhones and iOS devices.

RCS is simply an industry developed standard that allows phones running on different operating systems to interact and message each other.

First, this transition into making such a bold move has been seen as seismic shift for apple.

In a software release due to come out toward next year, Apple intends to lend support to the messaging standard.

The tech publisher was informed by an Apple spokesperson that RCS will prove better than either SMS or MMS when users want to contact other phone users, even though the other two options are also available.

The spokesperson said, “This will run side by side with iMessage, that is still going to be the best and most secure messaging experience for Apple user”.

The primary challenger appealing to Apple to allow RCS has been Google that creates the Android mobile OS.

The “get the message” campaign highlights the fact that some people experienced frustration when they encountered green-coloured messages on their iPhones or iOS devices, apart from the fact that SMS and MMSS messages were never encrypted in an end-to-end manner.

Apple’s adoption of RCS could be a result of recent EU rules for digital platforms.

Therefore, the main markets act of the bloc’s makes it a must to establish means of interacting between rival platforms in the major providers’ systems.

In early November, The Financial Times reported that Google and other companies had reached out to the European Commission, urging them to recognize Apple’s iMessage as a fundamental service that should be compatible with competitors like WhatsApp.

Apple has contested this idea, arguing that iMessage shouldn’t be bound by these regulations. However, in September, the European Commission announced an investigation into whether iMessage should be classified as a core service.

Earlier this year, Apple had to abandon its distinctive lightning port on new iPhones to comply with EU regulations requiring a universal charging cable.

Apple’s recent announcement follows closely after phone manufacturer Nothing introduced a way for users of its latest smartphone to send iMessages to iPhone users. The app, Nothing Chats, promises to act as a bridge between iPhone and Android devices, enabling users to connect through blue bubble messages.

In response to Apple’s adoption of RCS, the company shared on X (formerly Twitter), “looks like they got the message.”