As RCS (Rich Communication Services) messaging gains traction, Croatian communications platform Infobip reports it has delivered 10 billion RCS business messages through its platform. The surge follows Apple’s adoption of RCS in iOS 18, with Infobip seeing North American RCS traffic grow by more than 1,400%.
RCS is a modern messaging standard that upgrades traditional SMS and MMS by enabling features such as read receipts, typing indicators, high-resolution media sharing, and larger group chats. Like internet-based messaging apps, RCS messages are sent over mobile data or Wi‑Fi and are supported on both Android and iOS. Businesses are increasingly using RCS alongside SMS to send personalized messages—text, images, videos, and files—directly within users’ default messaging apps. Infobip reports year-on-year growth in RCS use of approximately 500% as brands adopt the channel to improve customer engagement.
HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency), part of Jisc, used Infobip-powered RCS to boost response rates for its Graduate Outcomes survey, the largest annual social survey of UK graduates. Dr Gosia Turner, Head of Surveys at Jisc, said RCS allowed them to deliver rich, engaging, and trusted messages to graduates, which helped increase completions compared with SMS and produced higher-quality data for the sector.
According to Jisc, response rates doubled when using RCS versus SMS, and demand for the format continues to climb. Craig Selby, RCS Business Unit Director at Infobip, notes accelerating adoption as businesses prioritize trusted, personalized messaging and as more consumers and brands embrace RCS capabilities.
Infobip was among the first companies to enable RCS messaging across major US mobile carriers, and industry analysts such as Juniper Research recognize Infobip as a leader in RCS business messaging.
Apple and RCS
With iOS 18, released in September 2024, Apple added RCS support to Messages, enabling iPhone users to send photos and videos, share links, see read receipts and typing indicators, and enjoy richer conversations with RCS users on Android. As a carrier-provided service, RCS messages can be delivered over Wi‑Fi or cellular data when iMessage is not in use. iPhone users can exchange RCS messages with non-Apple devices and with other Apple devices when Text Message Forwarding is enabled.
Unlike Apple’s proprietary iMessage, iOS 18 initially did not provide end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS exchanges between iPhone and Android devices. Apple has announced plans to add E2EE for RCS in a future software update across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS. Google Messages, by contrast, enabled E2EE for RCS by default for conversations between Google Messages users; however, E2EE does not apply when those users message iMessage users or other RCS clients that don’t support interoperable E2EE.
Android and RCS
Android devices have supported RCS for several years, with Google Messages serving as the primary client for the platform. The RCS protocol continues to evolve: Universal Profile v3.1, released in July 2025, added support for the xHE-AAC audio codec for improved compression and audio quality, along with protocol enhancements that strengthen connectivity between RCS clients and operator services—particularly in areas with weak network coverage.
(Image source: “Message in a bottle.” by elvis_payne is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.)
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