Q: Why do my Android videos look horrible when I text them to my wife's iPhone?
A: For many years, texting between Android and iPhone users has been challenging because of the proprietary messaging platform Apple chose to incorporate known as iMessage.
A competing multi-media messaging technology known as RCS (Rich Communication Services) became the standard that Android devices support.
When they introduced iMessage in 2011, it was a huge leap in messaging over the SMS (text only) and MMS (limited multi-media) standards because it had the ability to send high-quality photos, videos, voice notes, and more without the size and compression limitations of MMS.
It also didn't rely on carriers to send messages like SMS/MMS does because it allowed all messaging to be sent over Wi-Fi as well.
Another benefit was that it synchronized messaging across all Apple devices (phone, tablet, & computer) for users and provided end-to-end encryption for better security.
iMessage also introduced the "blue vs. green" message bubbles which provided a visual indicator to Apple users so they would know when a message was being sent via iMessage (blue) vs SMS/MMS (green).
Over time, this transcended the technological differences and became a social stigma and a nuisance in group messaging when it included both Android and iPhone users, especially when video was involved.
Videos sent and received in the group by Android users would be heavily compressed and pixelated, making them tough to view because they would revert to the inferior MMS standard to send due to Apple's lack of support for the RCS standard.
While Apple announced they would eventually support RCS a while ago, the rollout of iOS 18 makes it official, which should reduce some of the annoyances that cross-platform messaging has become for both Android and iPhone users.
With RCS support in iOS 18, photos and videos will finally be sent in higher resolutions to and from Android users and features such as typing indicators, read receipts and extended emojis will be available across all devices in a group.
It also means that Wi-Fi messaging will now be cross-platform which eliminates the need for a wireless carrier to message between iPhone and Android users.
The green vs blue bubble indicator won't change and when messages are sent via RCS, they won't have end-to-end encryption, so they'll be less secure.
If you want cross-platform media support and secure messaging, especially with international users that may be with carriers that won't initially support RCS, messaging apps such WhatsApp or Signal offer a free solution.
iOS 18 is only compatible with iPhone XR devices or newer so, it won't be a solution for older models such as iPhone X or iPhone 8.
While the 3 major carriers (T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T) support RCS, not all MVNO's (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) such as Boost Mobile and Mint Mobile are incorporating RCS support just yet.
This confusing array of devices and carriers that need to support RCS means that it will be a while before all your group messaging will become less annoying. However, it's a good start.