Messaging between Android and iOS just got a little bit better. Apple has finally allowed those rapscallions on the best Android phones to send message reactions to iPhone users (via The Verge). That means iPhone users communicating with the lowly green bubble types over RCS will finally start seeing emoji reactions appear on the relevant messages — as they should be.
The experience texting between Android and iPhone has never been particularly great — primarily down to Apple’s own stubbornness in adopting the RCS standard. Images and videos were compressed more than a soda can in the Mariana Trench and smart features didn’t work properly — if they even worked at all.
That’s why the addition of RCS messaging on the iPhone was such a big deal. It may not have been the instant changeover some people expected, but does pave the way for further improvements to the cross-platform messaging experience. This includes ensuring that message reactions actually work, and don’t just drop an emoji on a separate line.
The Verge reports that reactions are working on iOS 18.1 and different Android phones. Previously, RCS messages only featured correct reactions on the Android side, but something somewhere along the line has changed. It’s not clear who is responsible for this or what they did, but that doesn’t really matter.
The more improvements that can be made to RCS messaging between iPhone and Android, the better it is for everyone. Hopefully it means that even more improvements and refinements are on the way in the near future. The Verge notes that since emoji reactions are part of RCS version 2.7, there should also be the option to edit sent messages as well. But right now this doesn’t seem to be active.
Needless to say, improvements are needed, especially encryption. Considering Apple’s historical excuse for ignoring RCS was down to privacy concerns, and the fact it promised to make Android/iPhone messaging more secure, the continued lack of end-to-end encryption is rather strange.
Just don’t expect those green bubbles to go anywhere. They’ll be sticking around regardless of how much better Android-to-iPhone messaging gets.
