This year iOS 19 is coming to your iPhone and it promises to be a major update. These features brings iOS 19 to the Message app!
iOS 19
Apple is working on iOS 19 and according to rumors it will be a major update. With iOS 19 there are many changes to your iPhone. The operating system gets a new design and brings improvements to the camera app. That is not the only application that is expanded in iOS 19, the Message app also gets a number of new functions. That has to do with the outdated RCS standard in iOS 18, in iOS 19 it is renewed.
Since iOS 18, the Message app has support for the RCS standard. RCS counts as the successor for SMS, with which you can send longer messages, photos, videos and text messages via the Message app. At present, iPhones with iOS 18 have support for version 2.4 from RCS. That is no longer the most recent version, in June 2024 version 2.7 already appeared. In the meantime, RCS version 3.0 has been announced, giving the Message app many more functions in iOS 19.
Messages is being expanded
An important improvement in RCS version 3.0 is the support for end-to-end encryption. Apple has confirmed in a statement that end-to-end encryption comes to RCS messages. From iOS 19, RCS messages are therefore encrypted, even Apple cannot see them. Apple has also confirmed (indirectly) that RCS version 3.0 is coming to the iPhone. That means that the Message app will get many more functions.
The new RCS version has more options than the current version that is supported in iOS 18. For example, you can respond to RCS messages with Emoji and add an answer among messages. We already saw these functions at Imessage, but also come to RCS messages from iOS 19. That is handy, because this way you get many more options if you send a message to an Android user.
More new functions
With the new version of RCS it is also possible to edit or delete sent messages. We already see similar functions at WhatsApp and Imessage, but are also available in the Message app from iOS 19. In the Netherlands we don’t notice much of the new functions for the time being, because RCS is not supported here. Dutch providers have not yet rolled out the RCS standard.
It is still unclear when Dutch providers will add support for RCS. If this finally happens, users get a lot of functions, because you can then share extensive text messages, photos and videos with Android users via the Message app. Now that is not possible, so you need an alternative application such as WhatsApp. With iOS 19, the Message app has at least support for RCS, now the Dutch providers are still.
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