Apple Reportedly Partners With Reliance Jio to Bring RCS Messaging to Indian iPhone Users

Apple has reportedly partnered with Indian telecom service provider Reliance Jio to offer Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging in the country. As per the report, this move will allow iPhone users with Jio as their carrier to send and receive text messages with iMessage-like features such as read receipts (individual chats), typing indicators, and sending high-resolution media. Users will also be able to benefit from a more reliable group messaging experience compared to SMS and MMS. The report did not mention any possible timeline for the launch of the service.

Apple Reportedly Joins Hands With Reliance Jio for RCS Messaging in India

According to The Economic Times, Apple has forged its first carrier partnership in India with Reliance Jio to bring RCS messaging to the country. Citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, the report claimed that the partnership aims to increase the adoption of interoperable technology while challenging WhatsApp's dominance.

Notably, Gadgets 360 reached out to both Apple and Jio for a comment; however, both declined to confirm the development.

RCS messaging is the next generation of universal messaging standard, replacing SMS and MMS. It is an interoperable system that works across different carriers, operating systems, and phones. It comes with several upgrades over standard text messages, such as typing indicators, read receipts, high-resolution media sharing, WiFI and mobile data support, and end-to-end encryption.

The technology was first introduced in 2008 by the GSM Association (GSMA). However, it wasn't popularised until 2015, when Google acquired Jibe Mobile, which had built the RCS backend for Android. However, Apple did not implement the technology and remained focused on iMessages, an ecosystem-locked messaging technology for the tech giant. It was not till the European Union began pushing the company towards interoperability via the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that Apple budged.

Finally, in 2024, the iPhone maker introduced RCS Messaging to compatible iPhone devices via the iOS 18 update. However, since it is a carrier-based technology that does not rely on an app, the company has been slow to partner with carriers and implement it in different countries. The service is currently available in several countries on select networks. Some of these countries include Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.

If the report is true, India will also join the list in the days to come.