Back in March, before the “madness” was over, we told you that RCS Universal Profile 4.0 had been introduced. RCS, as you probably know, stands for Rich Communication Services, and is the next generation of messaging that replaces SMS (Short Message Service).
What RCS does that SMS doesn’t
RCS runs over cellular networks and Wi-Fi, and if you’ve ever noticed the poor quality of images and video that you’ve received via MMS and SMS, you will appreciate the higher quality of the photography sent using RCS. The latter also gives you:
- Typing indicators and read receipts.
- The ability to send longer messages.
- Audio messages
- Better group messages.
RCS Universal Profile 4.0 has been announced
And now that RCS Universal Profile 4.0 is on the way, expected to be adopted in 2027, it could bring new features such as Rich Text Formatting. This will allow you to add italics, bold text, and strikethroughs to your messages. It also will allow users to send and receive cross-platform RCS video calls.
Strings of text point to RCS Video calls
Google Messages already supports video calls over Google Meet and Video over LTE (ViLTE). The latter uses 4G LTE networks instead of legacy 2G and 3G voice towers. VoLTE (Voice over LTE) handles the sound while using that same connection, ViLTE handles the video.
String of text found in Google Messages app points to RCS Video call feature. | Image by Android Authority
We do have to be a little cautious here, despite the discovery of the text strings. As we get closer to seeing RCS Universal 4.0 unleashed in Google Messages, the more we will know about the plans for RCS Video Chat.
Google works to improve the Google Messages app
Google has really been working hard to improve Google Messages, making it the outstanding Android messaging app it is today. If you’ve been an Android user for a few years, you might remember that the “Big 3” U.S. carriers each had their own messaging apps in the Play Store. These were heavily promoted by the carriers before Google Messages became the heavyweight it is now.
The carrier-run apps had issues even with their versions of RCS. A Verizon Messages+ user could not see a typing indicator from someone using the AT&T messaging app. Once Apple started using the RCS Universal Profile, creating a standard messaging platform that would handle cross-platform messaging, the jig was up, and the writing was on the wall.
