iPhone Users' Emoji Responses Now Match Properly in RCS Text Messages Sent to Android Devices
iPhone Users' Emoji Responses Now Match Properly in RCS Text Messages Sent to Android Devices
The biggest frustration of texting between iOS and Android users might soon be a thing of the past. Even after Apple permitted the RCS protocol for communication between iOS devices and Androids, users still encountered the frustrating issue of certain emojis not translating properly. But now, it's possible to react to messages with emojis freely, as long as the RCS feature is functioning properly.
In iOS 18, Apple introduced the capability to utilize any emoji as a "Tapback" in Messages. Upon testing, it was found that all emojis now respond to messages, just as they were meant to. Gizmodo tested this across various devices, and found that, as long as RCS is used, both receiving and sending emoji reactions should be possible. The feature works on iOS 18.1 and the iOS 18.2 beta. The news was first reported by The Verge, although neither Apple nor Google has publicly taken credit for this change.
Despite this, iOS users still lack full control over whether their messages are sent as RCS or SMS. I've personally encountered instances where messages switch between the two, even within the same thread. Overall, while message compatibility has improved significantly, this latest change is not a silver bullet for all the lingering issues.
Apple has only implemented the most basic version of RCS in iOS 18. However, emoji reactions work only on RCS version 2.7, not the RCS Universal Profile. It's unclear if Apple updated the protocol secretly or if Google implemented changes on its end. The latter seems more likely, as The Verge noted that RCS 2.7 should allow users to edit sent messages—a feature not yet available.
Google has a history of making such changes quietly, especially considering it managed to get basic "Tapback" emoji reactions to work correctly between Messages and iMessages in 2021. Considering the amount of pressure it put on Apple to adopt the RCS protocol, one would expect a more active response from Google.
RCS messaging between iOS and Android isn’t perfect yet. I've noticed instances where my texts revert back to SMS randomly. However, since iOS 18, my text exchanges with family members have generally been smoother, even as the world remains divided between green and blue bubbles.
One can only hope that, someday in the future, we'll have fully encrypted messages between iOS and Android. For a while, RCS compatibility between the two largest phone ecosystems seemed like an impossible dream.
The future of tech and technology might bring us fully encrypted messages between iOS and Android, resolving the long-standing divide between green and blue bubbles. With Apple permitting the use of RCS and Google implementing changes, emoji reactions have become possible, even allowing iOS users to use any emoji as a "Tapback."