RCS texting between Galaxy phones and iPhones could improve soon

After years of pressure from Google and the European Union (EU), Apple implemented RCS texting in iPhones. While it has been over a year since RCS landed on iPhones, RCS texting between iPhones and Galaxy smartphones hasn't improved as much as people expected it to. Things could improve soon, though, as Apple is reportedly planning to implement a newer RCS profile.

A new report claims that Apple has implemented end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages in the iOS 26.3 Beta 2 update. This information was discovered in carrier bundle settings. This feature may allow cellular network carriers to display the encryption status for RCS messages. It appears to be arriving a year after the GSM Association said it is working on bringing E2EE to RCS texting between Android phones and iPhones.

End-to-end encryption for RCS was announced in March 2025 as a part of RCS Universal Profile 3.0. And Apple could be testing it internally to implement it with iOS 26.3 or iOS 27. However, for now, only the four main carriers in France (Bouygues, Orange, SFR and Free) seem to have this code.

Besides E2EE, RCS Universal Profile 3.0 also brings additional RCS features, including full-fledged Tapback support, in-line replies, and the ability to edit and unsend sent messages (for a limited time after they are sent). Apple could also work with Google to improve availability of Android-to-iPhone RCS.