Now with the latest version of iOS supporting RCS,¹ the benefits are available beyond the Android ecosystem when messaging across platforms.² This wider adoption takes the industry one step closer to a universal seamless messaging experience, improving how users connect around the world.

The Journey to a More Open World of Communication

With a belief that open industry standards enable new possibilities across the entire device ecosystem, Samsung has worked closely with Google for years to establish RCS as a universal standard that improves the messaging experience through usability and security-enhancing features.

“We’ve been working with Google on RCS for years to provide users with a seamless, connected messaging experience,” said Patrick Chomet, EVP and Head of Customer Experience, Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. “This wider adoption takes us into a new era of compatibility, and we’re thrilled to see the benefits of RCS messaging in the hands of more people.”

“We have worked hard for years to make RCS the standard for improved cross-platform messaging, and Samsung has been instrumental in the growing adoption of RCS,” said Sameer Samat, President of Android Ecosystem at Google. “With their insights into what consumers expect from their devices, we’ve been able to truly modernize the messaging experience.”

More Seamless Communication for All

With RCS, users enter a world of rich, seamless messaging — one that is fast becoming the norm. The key benefits of RCS when messaging with iOS devices include:

• High-quality media sharing³: Users can send high-resolution images and videos across Android and iOS devices, making it easier to share special moments in greater detail and clarity.

• Text Reactions: Users can react to messages with emoji or other expressions, similar to social media, making conversations more interactive and personal.

• Enhanced group chats: In group chats, users can add or remove other users whether they use Android or iOS.

RCS is quickly becoming the universally adopted, modern messaging standard, enhancing communications for users everywhere. As the world becomes more interconnected, this open, collaborative approach across the industry will be a key factor in enabling better experiences for all.

¹ Availability of service varies by region or carrier.
² All members of a chat must have RCS enabled. Requires Google Messages for Android users and iOS 18 or later for iPhone users. Encryption is only available for Android-to-Android communication.
³ Image quality may vary. Turn off “Send photos faster” within Google Messages settings for higher resolution images.

Working together, Google and Samsung will ensure that their messaging clients, Android Messages and Samsung Messages, work seamlessly with each company’s RCS technology, including cloud and business messaging platforms. To date, Google and Samsung have collaborated to introduce RCS to select Samsung devices; as part of this expanded collaboration, Samsung will work to bring these RCS features to existing mobile phones^* beginning with the Galaxy S8 and S8+. New Samsung Galaxy smartphones will also natively support RCS messaging^**, starting with those on a set of carriers that have or will soon launch RCS. This means that consumers and brands will be able to enjoy richer chats with both Android Messages and Samsung Messages users.

“At Samsung, we adhere to a model of open collaboration to bring premium experiences to our customers across products,” said Patrick Chomet, EVP and Head of Product & Services Innovation Team, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. “By furthering our robust partnership with Google, we will bring a richer messaging experience to our customers, letting them seamlessly chat with their friends and family across messaging platforms. This collaboration will help further the industry’s momentum toward advanced messaging and global RCS coverage.”

“We’ve been working with the mobile industry to upgrade the messaging experience on Android with RCS,” said Anil Sabharwal, Vice President for Communications Products and Photos at Google. “Samsung has been a major contributor to this initiative, and our partnership will further advance our shared vision of a substantially improved messaging experience on Android for users, brands and the broader Android ecosystem.”

As a further benefit of this expanded partnership, developers and brands that create RCS Business Messaging experiences (based on GSMA Universal Profile 2.0) using the Google or Samsung Messaging-as-a-Platform (MaaP) services will be able to reach both Android Messages and Samsung Messages users, bringing richer business messaging to many more users.

This collaboration further accelerates the adoption and availability of RCS globally, enabling an enhanced messaging experience across the entire Android ecosystem.

^*Will include Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+, S8 Active, S9, S9+, Note8, Note9, and select A and J series running Android 9.0 or later. Subject to carrier and market availability.

^**RCS capabilities will be available for select Galaxy smartphones on carriers that support RCS.

About Google

Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet.

Users will enjoy rich messaging features such as group chats, video calls and large file transfers, while continuing to use their phone numbers without the need for an additional app.

Samsung’s RCS cloud will allow mobile network operators to quickly launch the service and avoid the costly and time-consuming efforts of building their own network infrastructure. Additionally, Samsung’s RCS hub will support and simplify the interconnectivity among other RCS-enabled operators, Samsung and third-party RCS clouds, allowing for the same service ubiquity for users as SMS and MMS.

Samsung’s RCS solution is compliant with the latest GSMA RCS specifications. As a standards-based solution, it will be a true messaging evolution post SMS/MMS, making it possible to achieve a global footprint very quickly.

“We are very excited to be expanding Samsung’s RCS messaging service,” said Yunsang Park, SVP of the Product Service Innovation Strategy Group, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. “With this new offering, mobile customers will have a rich messaging experience built directly into their phones. Our new RCS solution, along with our supporting mobile network operator partners, will make it easier for hundreds of millions of users across the globe to access RCS messaging. We are grateful for our partners’ support and look forward to expanding our network in the future.”

Samsung is cooperating with several network provider partners to advance the availability of RCS messaging, including Deutsche Telekom, KT, SK Telecom, T-Mobile and Vodafone. To suit each partner’s specific needs, the solution is offered not only as a full packaged partnership but also in a variety of modular options. More partners are expected to join in the near future.

“The GSMA aligned the mobile industry behind a single, Universal Profile for advanced RCS messaging and we have already seen a number of significant operator launches,” said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA. “This approach gives consumers a richer and more consistent messaging experience regardless of device or network. We look forward to seeing the profile become the de facto industry standard in the near future.”

The RCS solution will be supported by Samsung smartphones running Android Marshmallow or later.

The RCS demo will also be showcased at the Samsung booth (Hall 3) at Mobile World Congress from February 27 to March 2, 2017.