This update improves messaging between iPhone and Android, the border between the blue and green bubbles is reduced

A new feature brings iPhone and Android users closer together and simplifies their interactions. With this recent update, conversations between the two systems should become much more fluid and readable.

Since the arrival of support for the Rich Communication Services standard (RCS) on iOS 18, Apple started to reduce certain incompatibilities with the devices Android. Long a source of confusion, conversations between users of the two systems are often crowded by display differences. A simple reaction emoji could turn into an additional line of text. This makes the exchanges difficult to read, especially in group discussions.

Now, thanks to a discreet update of the application MessagesiPhone users can see reactions sent from Android displayed directly on the respective message. THE reaction emoticonslike the heart or the thumbs up, now appear online with the message bubble, instead of appearing as separate text. Although neither Apple nor Google have yet made this change official, tests conducted by one of our colleagues at The Verge between several models of iPhone and Android smartphones have confirmed this improvement.

Android emoji sent by RCS now display correctly on iPhones

This change is part of support for Google's RCS standard, introduced with iOS 18. This standard, although basic on iOS, represents progress for cross-brand conversations that now allow Android users to react to messages sent by iPhone without generating confusion in the display. However, Apple maintains some exclusive features for iMessage, such as blue bubbles, which are distinctive for its users.

This development appears to respond to pressure from regulators in Europe and China, who are demanding better interoperability between devices. Android emoji reactions are supported by the version 2.7 of the RCSwhich also offers other features such as the possibility of edit a sent messagealthough this is not not yet operational on iOS. This new feature marks a step forward towards more fluid exchanges between smartphone users of these two brands, and could herald more compatibilities in the future.