RCS vs. iMessage: The complete guide for modern business messaging

While iMessage has long been Apple’s go-to messaging app and RCS is Android’s modern upgrade to SMS, businesses face a challenge: messaging is fragmented across platforms, and iMessage doesn’t support large-scale business messaging.

Meanwhile, RCS is rapidly gaining traction, promising rich, app-like experiences directly in native messaging apps.

RCS vs. iMessage: Quick overview

RCS and iMessage both bring rich, interactive features to mobile messaging, but they differ fundamentally in technology, availability, and suitability for business communication.

What is iMessage?

iMessage is Apple’s proprietary messaging platform available on iOS and macOS.

• Delivers a rich, encrypted chat experience for Apple device users
• Offers high delivery rates, advanced media sharing, and seamless sync across Apple devices
• Designed exclusively for P2P communication, it has no official API for business messaging, meaning brands cannot use iMessage to send marketing or transactional messages at scale

Feature comparison: RCS vs. iMessage

Although both platforms enhance mobile messaging with rich media and modern UX features, they diverge significantly in functionality, encryption, and business messaging capabilities.

Is RCS better compared to iMessage?

When comparing peer-to-peer (P2P) messaging only, outside of business use cases, RCS and iMessage are more complementary than competing.

iMessage has long been the default messaging app for Apple-to-Apple conversations, offering rich media, encryption, and seamless delivery within the iOS ecosystem. Historically, when an iPhone user messaged an Android user, especially when sharing photos or videos, those messages often reverted to SMS or MMS. 

This resulted in:

• Lower quality media due to MMS compression
• Extra charges for sending photos or large files over MMS

With RCS support on Android and Apple’s upcoming RCS rollout on iOS, these issues are largely solved:

So while iMessage remains the standard for Apple-to-Apple chats, RCS extends a similar experience across Android and iOS, creating a more unified messaging ecosystem for P2P users.

Why Apple keeps iMessage business messaging exclusive

Unlike RCS, which is designed for both personal and business communication, Apple has chosen a more controlled approach to brand-to-customer messaging.

Apple’s controlled ecosystem for business messaging

Apple doesn’t provide public APIs or open access for application-to-person (A2P) messaging. Instead, it offers Apple Messages for Business (AMB) through approved partners like Infobip.

• Only certified platforms can help brands manage conversations, automate customer flows, and access reporting analytics
• AMB is primarily customer-initiated, meaning businesses cannot send the first message
• Once a user initiates contact, brands can send notifications and responses, but promotional outbound messaging is not supported
• Rich, interactive messaging features are available, such as time pickers, list pickers, and Apple Pay, but only for approved, service-oriented interactions

Built for personalization, not promotion

Apple Messages for Business is designed for personalized, support-driven interactions, not for high-volume marketing campaigns.

• No mass-messaging or push-style promotional campaigns are allowed
• Focus is on conversational support, seamless transactional experiences, and rich branded interactions to enhance customer experience
• Features like secure payments via Apple Pay and appointment booking options are ideal for CX-driven journeys, not promotional blasts

What makes RCS a business-ready messaging channel

RCS is designed from the ground up to support rich, two-way customer engagement, making it far more than just a messaging upgrade for Android users.

Designed for engagement

With RCS, businesses can create interactive, branded experiences directly in the native messaging app:

• Add logos, brand colors, and verified sender IDs for instant recognition
• Use rich cards, buttons, and product carousels to showcase products or offers
• Build interactive flows for onboarding, order tracking, or appointment booking, all without requiring a separate app

Verified and trusted

Every RCS business account undergoes verification, ensuring customers know messages come from a legitimate, trusted source.

• Verified senders improve delivery reliability and reduce the risk of spam or phishing attempts
• Branded message headers help build trust and improve engagement rates

Analytics and automation

RCS provides delivery, read, and interaction data that traditional SMS can’t match.

• Track open rates, clicks, and responses for accurate ROI measurement.
• Integrate RCS data with your CRM and use Infobip’s Moments journey builder to automate campaigns and trigger personalized follow-ups.

RCS + Apple + everything else: Infobip unifies your messaging stack

Infobip removes the complexity of fragmented messaging ecosystems by enabling brands to deliver consistent, rich experiences across Android, iOS, and beyond—all from a single platform.

Simplified reach across devices

Infobip automatically detects device type, operating system, and user behavior to intelligently route messages:

• Android users: Delivered via RCS with full rich-media support
• iOS users: Delivered via Apple Messages for Business or WhatsApp, ensuring parity in user experience. (RCS is already rolling out for iOS users in select countries, and wider availability is expected globally.)
• Fallback to SMS: Messages seamlessly revert to SMS when RCS or Apple channels aren’t supported

With Moments, brands can maintain consistent content and customer experience across every device without duplicating campaign setup.

Centralized campaign logic

Infobip consolidates omnichannel campaign management:

• Design once, deploy everywhere: Build a single journey that dynamically delivers via RCS, WhatsApp, Apple Messages for Business, Viber, or SMS.
• People CDP personalization: Segment audiences based on device type, language, behavior, or messaging preference.
• Capability checker: Identify exactly how much of your customer base supports RCS to plan campaigns effectively.
• No-code automation: Set rules for intelligent routing and delivery timing without complex development.

Use case examples

With Infobip’s omnichannel orchestration, brands can deliver targeted, high-impact campaigns:

• Retail and eCommerce: Cart abandonment recovery, personalized promotions, flash sales, loyalty program updates, and order/shipping notifications.
• Finance and banking: Secure account alerts, fraud prevention notifications, onboarding steps, card activation, and loan repayment reminders.
  

For example, a banking brand can send OTPs via RCS where supported and automatically fallback to secure SMS for unsupported devices, ensuring uninterrupted delivery and compliance.

Real-world use cases where RCS excels

RCS empowers businesses to create richer, more trusted messaging experiences that scale globally. Verified branding, advanced interactivity, and Infobip’s omnichannel orchestration help enterprises deliver measurable results.

iMessage vs. RCS: FAQs

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