Maya Robertson
The adoption of Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging by Apple has sparked a dramatic increase in usage, with Google reporting that over 1 billion RCS messages are now being exchanged daily in the United States alone. This milestone comes months after Apple introduced support for the messaging protocol, marking a turning point in cross-platform communication.
RCS, long seen as the successor to SMS and MMS, had already gained significant traction among Android users. By late 2023, Google’s Messages app, the primary hub for RCS on Android, had surpassed 1 billion monthly active users. However, Apple’s long-awaited decision to integrate RCS into iOS has propelled the protocol to new heights.
Google announced the latest figures based on data collected over a 28-day rolling average, noting that daily usage in the U.S. now exceeds one billion messages. This growth reflects a shift in how Americans communicate—favoring richer, more dynamic messaging features such as high-resolution image and video sharing, read receipts, typing indicators, and seamless group chats.
“In recent years, we’ve focused on making communication easier and more inclusive, regardless of what phone you use,” Google said in a statement. “With RCS now supported on both Android and iOS, more users can enjoy modern messaging without disruptions.”
Despite this growth, RCS still trails behind traditional SMS/MMS usage in the U.S., which is estimated at around 6 billion messages per day. Furthermore, not all carriers have enabled full RCS support on iPhones. For instance, Google Fi—Google’s own carrier—only activated RCS support for iPhones in March 2025.
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