Apple Partners Reliance Jio to Enable RCS Messaging on iPhones in India: Report

Apple has entered its first telecom partnership in India by joining hands with Reliance Jio to enable Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging on iPhones, according to sources cited by The Economic Times. The integration will allow Jio users to exchange iMessage-style RCS messages featuring blue ticks, high-resolution media sharing, and encryption over mobile data or Wi-Fi at no additional cost.

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RCS Market

The move marks a significant step in India’s fast-growing RCS market, which is emerging as a key battleground against WhatsApp’s dominance. RCS, a messaging protocol developed by the GSMA in 2007, offers advanced features such as read receipts, group chats, and file sharing. Global adoption of RCS is accelerating, with Apple rolling out support for the service in iOS 18 in late 2024 following regulatory pressure to ensure cross-platform interoperability.

Jio’s Scale Could Drive Mass Adoption

Jio’s partnership with Apple is expected to drive adoption at scale, leveraging the telecom operator’s 494 million subscribers. Google has already integrated its RCS services with Jio and Vodafone Idea, while Bharti Airtel has opted out, citing concerns about spam and calling for regulatory oversight of over-the-top (OTT) messaging platforms.

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Unnamed experts cited in the report say Apple’s embrace of RCS reflects growing pressure from regulators and ecosystem players to dismantle the long-standing divide between Apple’s iMessage and Android’s messaging systems. Countries such as the United States and Germany have recorded over 75 percent RCS adoption within months of rollout, with Spain, France, and the UK following suit.