I’ve been a Google Pixel fan for a long time. Part of that fandom means I’ve been using and enjoying RCS in Google Messages for about as long as it’s been available. I’ve also been listening to Google beg Apple to “get the message” for years, but I was never entirely sure it would happen — until now. As of the launch of iOS 18, all updated iPhones support RCS messaging for cross-platform communication between iOS and Android, and I couldn’t be happier. Now, I have to convince my iPhone-loving friends to update their phones and make our lives a little easier.
At first, I wasn’t sure how to do that. After all, telling them that Messages would support a new messaging protocol for better communication with Android has absolutely no sex appeal to it. Something about pitching an iPhone user on anything to do with green bubbles seemed like it would work against me rather than for me. And yet, I found a way to get my friends to update, and I did it without leaning on RCS as the main selling point. Here’s how.