A few of South Africa’s cellular operators are placing within the legwork required to offer Wealthy Communication Companies (RCS) help for iPhones working iOS 18, however none but helps the protocol.
RCS, a protocol and normal developed and maintained by the GSMA mobile trade affiliation, is marketed as a substitute for SMS and MMS, and presents a bunch of contemporary options that make texting akin to chatting in on the spot messaging apps like WhatsApp, full with high-resolution picture and video help, and group chats.
Apple’s iMessage has options just like RCS, however these are incompatible with Android. It’s why Google has been pressuring Apple to implement RCS for years. When speaking with Android customers, Apple iMessage chats would present a inexperienced as a substitute of blue speech bubble to point insecure SMS was getting used as a substitute of the safer however proprietary Apple Push Notification protocol utilized by iMessage.
Rival Google, however, has been a vocal proponent of RCS since 2019, and by 2021 was overtly criticising Apple for not adopting RCS in iMessage, as a substitute resorting to the legacy SMS system. Apple was reluctant to undertake the protocol, allegedly as a result of it was dangerous for enterprise.
Apple lastly yielded with the announcement of the incorporation of help for RCS into iOS 18, the discharge of which coincided with the introduction of the iPhone 16 line-up earlier this month.
However one of many key advantages of RCS (in comparison with SMS), specifically end-to-end encryption, is not going to be obtainable for messages despatched between Apple and Android customers. The GSMA is, nonetheless, working to offer the mandatory encryption. Encryption for iPhone-to-iPhone and Android-to-Android RCS messaging is supported.
Telkom, MTN and Vodacom
“Telkom has submitted necessities to Apple to allow RCS. Testing will probably be performed and, as soon as executed and the check outcomes have been permitted by Apple, we are going to talk the provision of the RCS service on iOS to our subscribers,” a Telkom spokesman stated.
Learn: Apple drops a bomb on the listening to help market
MTN South Africa stated RCS is in a feasibility evaluation part internally. It didn’t present a launch date. Vodacom South Africa didn’t give any indication that RCS help for Apple units on its community will come anytime quickly. A spokeswoman informed TechCentral in a terse assertion in response to questions that Vodacom “is but to pronounce on its help for Apple iOS”.
Cell C didn’t reply to a request for remark. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media
