RCS is the modern version of SMS served over data/wifi. It improves security and allows you to group chat, send pictures/videos/voice notes for free without incurring MMS charges or having to use third-party apps like Facebook or Whatsapp.
It has been the standard on Android for many years, but Apple recently launched support for it in iOS 18 last year.
Due to the differences in how Apple and Google support RCS, iPhones require that carriers 'handle' the RCS protocol directly. Whereas on Android, Google handles the RCS chats for you. This means that Android users on UK carriers have enjoyed RCS for years, but UK carriers must do some work to support RCS on iOS.
Three UK promptly supported RCS on iOS in December 2024. This means Three customers on iOS devices can use and enjoy the benefits of RCS.
Smarty has yet to enable support for RCS on iOS, as of 18th February 2025. Someone did say in the forums that Smarty was actively investigating this in December, but we have not had any update since. Other UK carriers have swiftly done the work to enable RCS for iOS users, but there hasn't been an update on this from Smarty yet. I would really like some official acknowledging that this is coming soon, and ideally some realistic timescales to manage expectations.
This is quite an important feature for me because I moved my elderly mother over to Smarty to save costs, but she routinely sends me (an Android user) images or videos over MMS which incurs charges. I am giving Smarty another 4-6 weeks to acknowledge and confirm that proper RCS support is coming soon, or I'll be moving my mother to another carrier. I can imagine there's quite a few customers in a similar situation.
