Hidden text reveals that RCS video calls for Google Messages is in the works
One of the features available with RCS Universal Profile 4.0 is RCS video calls.
New RCS feature in the works for Google Messages app. | Image by PhoneArena
Back in March, before the "madness" was over, we told you that RCS Universal Profile 4.0 had been introduced. RCS, as you probably know, stands for Rich Communication Services, and is the next generation of messaging that replaces SMS (Short Message Service).
What RCS does that SMS doesn't
RCS runs over cellular networks and Wi-Fi, and if you've ever noticed the poor quality of images and video that you've received via MMS and SMS, you will appreciate the higher quality of the photography sent using RCS. The latter also gives you:
- Typing indicators and read receipts.
- The ability to send longer messages.
- Audio messages
- Better group messages.
To improve cross-platform messaging between iPhone and Android users, Apple finally added RCS support with iOS 18 in September 2024. However, the version of RCS, Universal Profile 2.4, did not include several features. One such feature, found on RCS Universal Profile 3.0 is end-to-end encryption, which recently debuted on iOS-Android messaging on May 11 with the release of iOS 26.5.
RCS Universal Profile 4.0 has been announced
And now that RCS Universal Profile 4.0 is on the way, expected to be adopted in 2027, it could bring new features such as Rich Text Formatting. This will allow you to add italics, bold text, and strikethroughs to your messages. It also will allow users to send and receive cross-platform RCS video calls.
Which feature of RCS Universal Profile is more important to you?
There are already some signs that Google is working to make this happen. A text string discovered by Android Authority in a recent release of the Google Messages app (version number messages.android_20260515_00_RC00.phone.openbeta_dynamic) mentions "rcs video call title" and "Video call."
Strings of text point to RCS Video calls
Google Messages already supports video calls over Google Meet and Video over LTE (ViLTE). The latter uses 4G LTE networks instead of legacy 2G and 3G voice towers. VoLTE (Voice over LTE) handles the sound while using that same connection, ViLTE handles the video.
String of text found in Google Messages app points to RCS Video call feature. | Image by Android Authority
We do have to be a little cautious here, despite the discovery of the text strings. As we get closer to seeing RCS Universal 4.0 unleashed in Google Messages, the more we will know about the plans for RCS Video Chat.
Google works to improve the Google Messages app
Google has really been working hard to improve Google Messages, making it the outstanding Android messaging app it is today. If you've been an Android user for a few years, you might remember that the "Big 3" U.S. carriers each had their own messaging apps in the Play Store. These were heavily promoted by the carriers before Google Messages became the heavyweight it is now.
Verizon shut its messaging app on December 9, 2024, and it moved its customers over to Google Messages. AT&T shut its proprietary messaging app on December 4, 2024, and also urged subscribers to switch to Google Messages. Ahead of the other two, T-Mobile started moving all of its RCS traffic through Google's Jibe backend in the middle of 2023.
Samsung Messages, another proprietary messaging service for Android users with Samsung devices, recently announced that it is shutting down in the U.S. this July, the same time when AT&T plans on shutting the backend of its service. Can you guess which messaging app Samsung Messages recommended that its users switch to once it shuts down? If you said Google Messages, you are right.
The carrier-run apps had issues even with their versions of RCS. A Verizon Messages+ user could not see a typing indicator from someone using the AT&T messaging app. Once Apple started using the RCS Universal Profile, creating a standard messaging platform that would handle cross-platform messaging, the jig was up, and the writing was on the wall.
If you don't have Google Messages on your Android phone, you can pick it up from the Google Play Store. All you need to do is tap on this link and install the app on your Android phone.
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