iPhones may be getting RCS support because of China — not the EU

Google Messages on Android phone next to Messages app on iPhone
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Apple bringing RCS support to iPhones is a warmly welcomed surprise — considering the company's previous stance on it being something that would never happen. Who made the team U-turn on this, though?  It turns out that government pressure may be to blame, but not the government you probably expected.

According to John Gruber at Daring Fireball, the Chinese government may have been the entity that forced Apple to support RCS messaging. Apparently this could be due to the fact China is working on a new law (via Reddit) that would force 5G devices to support RCS if they want to be certified for sale in the country. 

Gruber claims he can’t know for certain, but believes Apple would prefer to ignore RCS and continue refusing to support new messaging protocols. But China is a huge phone market, and Apple managed to top last year with a 17.3% market share — a record-high for the company.

Needless to say, any profit-driven business would be spectacularly stupid to throw all that away over by stubbornly refusing to improve inter-platform communication between iPhones and Android. Withdrawing would lead to a huge hole in profits, and that means the only other option is to abide by the government's new rules.

Many had assumed that the EU, and the then-impending threat of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) may have pushed Apple to support RCS. However, since the EU recently confirmed that iMessage isn’t big enough to be a "core platform service," it left experts looking to this new law in China as the reason behind Apple's conversion. 

WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger weren’t so lucky, and will need to offer some third party support in future. It’s not clear what, if any, impact Apple’s announcement regarding RCS will have played in this.

So if you’re happy about RCS coming to the iPhone like we are, you can probably thank the Chinese government for it. We don’t know when support for the protocol will come to iOS, aside from it happening before the end of this year, but it would make sense that Apple would introduce it alongside iOS 18 in the fall. 

No doubt we’ll hear more about those plans when iOS 18 makes its first public appearance at WWDC in June.

More from Tom's Guide

Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.

Read more
RCS messaging on an iPhone
Forget green bubbles — iPhones will soon get encrypted RCS messaging to Androids
How to enable RCS messaging in iOS 18
iOS 18 finally brings RCS messages to iPhone — here's how to send them
iPhone 16 next to samsung galaxy watch 7 and bose wireless earbuds on a composite image
Apple's walled garden is crumbling — EU orders iOS to open up to third-party devices
Apple iPhone 16 & 16 Plus hands-on.
Forget USB-C — a truly portless iPhone just got the all-clear from the EU
iPhone 16 next to Starlink satellite
Online conspiracies say Starlink is being shoved on your iPhone with iOS 18.3 — here's the truth
Apple Intelligence logo on iPhone
Apple says the iPhone 16 is selling well and Apple Intelligence is a big reason why
Latest in iPhones
An image of an iPhone screen showing the Safari app icon in the center
I got tired of Safari revealing my web searches in iOS 18.4 — this setting fixes that
iPhone Flip Concept
iPhone Flip should have been released years ago — it's time Apple started taking risks again
iPhone 17 Air render
iPhone 17 Air — new survey could be bad news for Apple's super thin iPhone
Render of the alleged design of the iPhone 17 Pro
New iPhone 17 Pro dummy leak highlights redesigned camera and part glass body
Siri in iOS 18 on iPhone
Users complain that Siri can’t answer even the most basic questions — here’s what we know
iPhone 16 next to samsung galaxy watch 7 and bose wireless earbuds on a composite image
Apple's walled garden is crumbling — EU orders iOS to open up to third-party devices
Latest in News
Apple Watch Series 10
Future Apple Watch models could get a surprising new feature — what we know
iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 16 Pro Max in hand showing displays
Forget iPhone 17 — iPhone 18 could get this huge upgrade
The new Husqvarna iQ series robot lawn mower.
Husqvarna’s new robot mowers offer GPS for less
Rendered images of rumored foldable iPhone.
Foldable iPhone report just revealed key details — here's what we know
NYTimes Connections
NYT Connections today hints and answers — Sunday, March 23 (#651)
NYT Strands on a cellphone
NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #385 (Sunday, March 23 2025)