RCS on iPhone with iOS 18.2 - Hopes Restored

The announcement of RCS support on iPhone with iOS 18 was a very big disappointment for me, as I mentioned in my earlier post; however, in recent days, the situation has changed.

With iOS 18.2, most major networks in the United Kingdom rushed to announce that, with this update, compatible devices can now enjoy messaging with Android users using RCS technology.

It came as a surprise to me, as during the pre-Christmas period, I missed a post on the GiffGaff Community titled RCS services between iPhone and Android is here.

I discovered this when I decided to send a text message to one of my friends, and it suddenly appeared as Text Message - RCS.

I rushed to check the settings for Messages and noticed that, indeed, I had RCS Messaging enabled. Yuppie!

Together with widely enabled WiFi Calling on GiffGaff, RCS also works when you are in a spot where the reception is poor, but you still have access to the internet over WiFi.

For me, this came as an early Christmas gift as well as a great birthday present, as I noticed it on the 20th of December!

Apple keeps track of what features are available on their phones based on which provider the user is using. Despite the fact that these updates are not too frequent — for example, in the United Kingdom, RCS is not listed for O2/GiffGaff (even though it is for O2 in other countries, like Germany) — it’s nice to know that information like this is shared between members of the network.

What’s important is that when an iPhone is updated to iOS 18.2 and the network has enabled RCS, this feature will be enabled by default, so the user doesn’t need to do anything extra.

Despite some networks in the United Kingdom trying to persuade users with cheap plans that last only a few months, GiffGaff continues to hold steady. They know they are offering value for money and are thinking long-term about the sustainability of their business and services, rather than chasing quick pre-Christmas gains like some other loss-making virtual operators in the UK.