iOS 18 was officially released this week, and the update to the iPhone operating system brings a number of new features, including support for Rich Communication Services (RCS) in the Messages app

However, just because your iPhone can now send RCS messages does not mean that your network carrier will support the feature; RCS must be enabled by your carrier, which means that you must have the ability to send RCS messages to your iPhone

RCS is like a replacement for the outdated SMS and MMS Unlike Apple's iMessage, RCS is intended to work within a standard texting app, providing read receipt and live typing indicators

With it coming to the iPhone, Apple owners will finally be able to send high-quality images and videos to Android users, and vice versa, via RCS messaging instead of the highly compressed images currently happening from Android to iOS Messages will show a green balloon, but the Messages app feed will now say “Text Message - RCS”

Fortunately, Apple has a list on its wireless carrier support page outlining which carriers support RCS on the iPhone

In the US, the three major carriers, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, support RCS from the start But when it comes to the smaller carriers, it is all over the map: some, like Metro and US cellular, supported by T-Mobile, support RCS, while others, like Ryan Reynold's Mint Mobile and Boost Mobile, currently Some do not support RCS, such as Ryan Reynold's Mint Mobile and Boost Mobile

Outside the US, some carriers in Canada, Europe, and Asia support RCS, but it is not universal In general, larger carriers seem to offer RCS

In order to use RCS messaging, the iPhone must be updated to iOS 18 Once that is done, RCS can be enabled by:

1 opening Settings 2 tap Apps 3 tap Messages 4 under Text Messages, select RCS Messaging 5 tap the toggle next to RCS Messaging

RCS should appear as an option If it does not appear, it means that your carrier does not yet support RCS

Additionally, the carrier should send you an update to enable support on your iPhone For the past few months, such carrier updates have only been available in the new iOS 18 beta builds; if RCS is not yet available, you may need to wait for a carrier update Otherwise, more carriers should add RCS support in the coming months

The iOS 18 update is available for download now if you have an iPhone XR or later If you have not yet updated, you can do so by going to Settings - General - Software Update