Green Bubble Emoji Reactions From Android Users Now Show Up Properly on iPhones

With the launch of iOS 18, Apple added support for RCS, or Rich Communication Services. ‌RCS‌ replaces SMS/MMS as the default messaging standard for any "green bubble" conversations, and because it's more modern, it supports features like read receipts and typing indicators.

apple rcs thumb
‌RCS‌ is also supposed to support emoji reactions from Android users, but it wasn't working properly when ‌iOS 18‌ launched. It's not clear what changed, but The Verge says that something that Google or Apple tweaked made it work as of this week.

When an Android user uses an emoji reaction to a message that you've sent over ‌RCS‌, the emoji will now show up in line with the message bubble, just like it does on with iOS Tapback reactions.

Prior to now, if an Android user used an emoji reaction to a message in a conversation with an iPhone user, the emoji would show up on a separate line, which was confusing and not how the feature was meant to work.

The Verge says it tested emoji reactions between iPhones running iOS 18.1 and several different Android phones, and reactions display both ways as intended.

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Top Rated Comments

SoldOnApple Avatar
20 hours ago at 08:03 pm
Alternate app stores in EU, rich messaging with Android, emulators in the App Store. What a time to be alive.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
trueluck Avatar
1 day ago at 04:08 pm

Bro's at 97% and already has low power mode on
That’s my secret, Cap. I’m always in low power mode…
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
canadianpj Avatar
21 hours ago at 07:12 pm
In all my years of having an iPhone and having people in my life who use Android it's never once been an issue. Not sure what the problem was.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WarmWinterHat Avatar
22 hours ago at 05:33 pm

I still have RCS turned off. Never mind emoji reactions. Messages - inbound and outbound - aren’t arriving at their destination. RCS is too buggy and unreliable. And it’s not just me and others with iPhones. Friends with Android phones have no use for RCS either. And yes, we all have carriers that support RCS.
It’s been working perfect between my wife (Pixel 8) and myself, and other various android people I text.. ??‍♂️
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
22 hours ago at 05:49 pm
No one I talk to even knows this exists and carriers don't promote it either. I guess it's different when everyone is using WhatsApp anyway. I think the last SMS I sent was in 2007 or something. Glad it's an option now though. However, I wish they picked a 3rd color for this one. People don't get that it isn't a SMS and afraid it will cost 49 cent per message
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mnsportsgeek Avatar
23 hours ago at 04:24 pm
My emoji reactions in sms/rcs were working fine before 18.1
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)