Latest news with #UniversalProfile
Phone Arena
25-07-2025
- Phone Arena
Google Messages set to benefit as a new RCS upgrade boosts audio and security
The messaging experience on Android is about to improve again. The GSMA has officially announced Universal Profile 3.1, the latest version of the technical standard that powers RCS (Rich Communication Services). The update introduces a few new capabilities that will roll out gradually across apps and carriers that support the platform, including Google Messages (and hopefully Apple Messages at some point as well).The headline feature in Universal Profile 3.1 is the addition of the xHE-AAC audio codec, which supports better sound quality in shared audio content. This means voice messages, background sound clips, and other audio-based features sent through RCS will now have clearer and more natural playback. According to the GSMA, this enhancement benefits both speech and non-speech use cases, including AI chatbot interactions that rely on xHE-AAC codec is designed for efficient audio compression and decompression, which allows for improved quality without significantly increasing file size. It should also help ensure more consistent playback across different devices and network conditions. While it may take some time for apps and carriers to implement this update, it marks a noticeable upgrade in how Android users communicate via voice. RCS messaging use is exploding in the U.S. | Image credit — T-Mobile Beyond audio improvements, Universal Profile 3.1 also introduces technical changes aimed at streamlining how RCS connects to mobile networks. Specifically, the GSMA outlines "new mechanisms for connecting RCS clients to operator services," which should lead to a more reliable and seamless onboarding experience for users setting up RCS for the first time. However, the details of how this works behind the scenes haven't been shared in full yet. There are also a few smaller upgrades included in the update. These include better spam protection, more secure file transfers, and support for using deep links to start conversations from other apps or websites. All of these are expected to roll out in future versions of apps like Google Messages as they adopt the 3.1 standard. We've been following the evolution of RCS closely, especially as it plays a larger role in Android's messaging ecosystem. With this update, the standard becomes even more competitive against services like iMessage and WhatsApp, particularly when it comes to voice communication. While RCS still depends on carrier and device support, updates like Universal Profile 3.1 show that it's steadily evolving into a richer, more capable messaging platform. Switch to Total Wireless and buy 2 months of a 5G Unlimited plan to score the phone free! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
Phone Arena
11-07-2025
- Phone Arena
Apple still needs to add RCS Univeral Profile 30. Here's why it's important.
When Apple added RCS support to iOS with the release of iOS 18 last September, it included RCS Universal Profile 2.4. This allows cross-platform messaging between iOS and Android users who have RCS enabled. It allows iOS users chatting with Android users to receive and share high-quality video and images. If you've ever tried using MMS to receive a photo on your iPhone from an Android user, or vice versa, you know what a disaster it is. RCS also allows iOS and Android users to exchange longer messages, receive typing indicators, read receipts, and actual emoji reactions instead of getting a separate text that says, "Joe likes your text." But there is one important RCS feature that won't be available until Apple starts supporting RCS Universal Profile 3.0, and that is end-to-end encryption. With end-to-end encryption, messages sent between users are encrypted, and the only people who can read them are the sender and the intended recipient. Not even Apple or Google is able to read the message. Currently, RCS supports in-transit encryption, which partially protects a message sent from an iOS user to an Android user and vice versa. The message cannot be read from the time it leaves the sender and travels over the internet. But once it arrives at the destination (such as a server or a wireless provider's system), the message can be intercepted and read. Besides end-to-end encryption, when Apple does add support for RCS Universal Profile 3.0, it will allow users to receive new features on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, such as: In-line replies which allow users to reply to a specific message within a conversation. Edit messages allowing users to make changes to messages they have already sent. Unsend messages allowing users to delete a message already sent and received so as to make it appear that it wasn't sent at all. Full-fledged Tapback support for RCS messages allowing actual emojis to be sent as a reaction to a message without requiring a special workaround. Apple hasn't announced any timeline for its move to support RCS Universal Profile 3.0. It still needs to wait for carriers to support it as well. We should see Apple include the updated RCS Universal Profile with a future iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and watchOS 26 update. So far, it has not surfaced on any of the first three iOS 26 Developer Beta releases. Secure your connection now at a bargain price! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase This offer is not available in your area.
Android Authority
01-07-2025
- Android Authority
Android users can finally edit messages sent to iPhones, but there's a catch
Ryan Haines / Android Authority TL;DR Google is finally starting to roll out the ability for Android users to edit RCS messages sent to iPhones, a feature previously unavailable cross-platform. Made possible by the new Universal Profile 3.0 specification, users can long-press a sent message to edit and resend it within a 15-minute window. The feature is in limited testing and isn't perfect yet, as edited texts currently appear as a new message on iPhones and iPhones can't edit messages sent to Android devices. For years, text messaging between Android and iOS was a terrible experience, but that has recently changed thanks to Rich Communication Services (RCS). This new messaging standard dramatically improves texting between iPhones and Androids by enabling features like high-quality media sharing, read receipts, and typing indicators. While certain features were missing when cross-platform RCS launched last year, Google and Apple are gradually introducing them. For instance, the ability to edit a message sent from an Android phone to an iPhone is now finally starting to roll out. iPhone users have long been able to edit iMessages sent to other iPhones, and Android users have enjoyed the same capability for about a year when using RCS to message each other. However, when Google first launched this feature on Android, it wasn't part of the official RCS specification. Since Apple based its implementation on the official standard at the time (Universal Profile 2.4) that didn't define message editing, the feature was unavailable for cross-platform chats. That changed earlier this year when the GSM Association introduced the Universal Profile 3.0 specification, which adds support for both message editing and end-to-end encryption. Over the past week, several users, including myself, have gained the ability to edit RCS messages sent to iPhone users. After sending a message, I can long-press it to reveal a pencil icon. Tapping this icon fills the reply box with the original text, allowing me to edit and resend it. Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority This feature works for me when sending RCS messages to iPhone users running the latest stable release of iOS 18.5 and the iOS 26 beta, in individual and group chats, within the 15-minute window that currently exists for Android-to-Android and iPhone-to-iPhone message editing. While it looks and functions as expected on the Android side, the edited message currently appears on the iPhone as a new message preceded by an asterisk. Furthermore, iPhone users aren't able to edit RCS messages they send to Android users. Apple will likely need to update its Messages app to handle RCS message editing properly, though there's no word on when that might happen. We hope full support for message editing will arrive alongside the cross-platform end-to-end encryption feature that Apple and Google pledged to support earlier this year. The ability to edit RCS messages sent to iPhone users isn't widely available yet in Google Messages. I've only seen two other reports of the feature rolling out: one from a Reddit user last week and another from one of my followers today. Google is likely A/B testing this with beta users, so most people will probably have to wait for a wider release. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
RCS ad spam worsens across all platforms and could be here to stay
The Rich Communication Services (RCS) protocol offers major upgrades over SMS/MMS, including features like high-res images and typing notifications. The RCS adoption push was fueled partly by the industry's desire for improved automated marketing and streamlined engagement. RCS advertisement, often powered by AI chatbots, will almost certainly become more widespread. Built to replace two aging standards, the Rich Communication Services protocol offers a massive functionality upgrade over old, tired SMS and MMS messages. Google Messages began supporting it at the end of 2019 and spent years feuding with Apple in an apparent attempt to encourage adoption. Since then, a bunch of carriers have tried and failed at their own implementations, the Universal Profile helped ensure interoperability, and Apple eventually caved. That means everybody, Android or iOS, now gets to enjoy cutting-edge messaging technology filling their inbox with automated messages from companies they might not want to hear from (Source: Android Authority). And even as Google delivers various add-on features to reduce spam, there's one thing it's not telling you. The mobile industry explicitly pushes RCS technology as a way to regain control over the business-to-consumer engagement pipeline and greatly streamline automated marketing messaging. It's not even really a secret, so don't expect it to go away anytime soon. And expect AI to be closely intertwined. RCS lets you customize the color of your bubbles, but still won't solve humiliating blue bubble discrimination. RCS has significant advantages over SMS and MMS, including live typing notifications, better integration with other software, high-resolution images, and the potential for end-to-end encryption. It boasts a similar feature set to WhatsApp and Telegram, which most regions outside North America and China have relied on over SMS for years. With US smartphone users strangely resistant to third-party messaging platforms, the region needed an upgrade. RCS can provide it. But enhanced communication between friends and family is just one side of the industry's two-pronged motive for implementing the new standard in the exact way it has. The lesser-known motivation? You guessed it: advertising. We're not saying carriers, smartphone developers, and other industry groups pushed for RCS adoption exclusively to supercharge marketing spam. But the GSMA, the industry working group responsible for spearheading the standard's development, isn't trying to hide anything. This GSMA whitepaper explains how RCS Business Messaging (or RBM) is engineered to simplify reaching consumers with automated materials and streamline brand engagement. RCS spam has plagued users since shortly after the protocol became popular. It got so bad in India three years ago that Google put a blanket moratorium on all forms of RBM just to stop the bleeding. As users from South Asia to the Americas continue to report, unwanted RCS advertisements remain rampant to this day. Now that iOS users have been invited to the spamfest, nobody has to feel left out. RCS as an upgrade to A2P [application-to-person] SMS Messaging and the features that it can provide give operators an opportunity to take more of the revenue share of digital marketing spend. These features mean that RCS can be used to replace app development and email campaigns by brands. — GSMA, the industry group behind RCS development It's a powerful advertisement for companies to dive fully into RCS implementation. No more developing expensive, bespoke apps just to provide customer service or spread the world about the latest sales. No more convincing interested demographics to sign up for a loyalty program using an email account. The RCS protocol's ability to integrate with a phone's software ecosystem lets a marketing department keep everything pretty much in-house. Companies no longer have to struggle with the whims of companies like Meta, Telegram, or X/Twitter to provide customer service and advertisements, because RCS is an open standard. Its live-action, full-featured design intends for consumers to do all the required interacting via their favorite messaging app, which should, logically, reduce friction and increase engagement. Considering how that's a major purpose of RCS adoption, there's no reason automated RBM messaging would ever try to completely squash what many users consider spam. See? AI dialogue is completely indistinguishable from person-to-person conversation. In another sign that RCS spam is here to stay, Google and the three major US carriers have agreed to adopt Clerk Chat, a refined platform for delivering commercial RCS messages. Clerk Chat's promise of "swipe-through carousel displays of upcoming events" essentially translates to a slideshow of visual advertisements, complete with an in-platform option to make purchases. The initiative's stated goal of giving users a "concierge-like experience" sounds fancy, until you remember that a quality concierge requires access to certain sensitive details like a client's identity, itinerary, and payment information. Naturally — because no 2020s tech product is complete otherwise — AI models and LLM chatbots figure to feature heavily within this user-friendly, business-friendlier messaging standard and its increased usage and development. If you've received illicit spam any time recently, some portion is likely sourced from AI. And as corporations continue to take further advantage of the tools the industry has given them, we'll only see increased engagement with Turing test-passing robots. Many US smartphone users simply don't answer the phone anymore, due to the high rate of spam calls. With built-in ad-focused mechanisms, it's frustrating to see RCS potentially heading in that direction from the jump. Nonetheless, there is promise that the advanced messaging protocol can really improve customers' experiences if the spam doesn't get too heavy-handed or AI too out of pocket. Plus, at least the chatbots are convincing.
Engadget
09-05-2025
- Engadget
'Delete for everyone' appears in the Google Messages beta
If you sent something you regret in a Google Messages RCS group chat, it looks like you'll soon be able to delete it for everyone, not just yourself. On Thursday, a Reddit user posted (via 9to5Google ) a screenshot of the option in a public beta for Android's messaging app. The image from u/seeareeff shows a pop-up menu asking if they want to "Delete for everyone" or "Delete for me." Until now, the latter has been the app's only deletion option. The delete for everyone feature aligns with the RCS's Universal Profile v2.7. The GSMA finalized that update in June 2024, but it takes time for RCS-enabled apps like Google's to implement it. In February, a Messages app teardown from 9to5Google showed the change was in the pipeline for Android users. There are some caveats. First, not everyone using the public beta has seen the option. In addition, the Reddit user who spotted it only saw it in a group chat with 12 people; it wasn't yet in their one-on-one threads. Finally, 9to5Google 's app sleuthing from February revealed a limitation you'll want to remember: Deleted messages "may still be seen by others on older app versions."
