Rich messaging is finally reaching both major phone platforms. Google Messages fully supports RCS, Apple added RCS support in iOS 18, and in early 2026 Apple and Google began jointly testing end-to-end encrypted RCS between iOS and Android. For mobile marketers, that removes the biggest barrier to RCS: a large share of the audience could not receive it.
What RCS adds. Branded messages with images, carousels, action buttons, and read receipts, delivered in the phone’s native messaging app. Early adopters report engagement up to 300 percent higher than traditional SMS. That figure comes from vendor and agency sources and reflects early adopters, who tend to be the most engaged brands, so expect smaller gains at scale.
The old SMS problem is still there. Text messages are widely reported to achieve open rates above 90 percent, which is exactly why they are easy to overuse. A channel people read nearly every time is a channel where one badly timed message costs trust. The trend sources describe is a move away from SMS blasts toward triggered, service-oriented, and retention-focused messages.
Suppression logic is the practical lever. The more careful programs build frequency controls and suppression rules from the start. A customer who just purchased should not receive a cart reminder. A user who is active in the app right now may not need a push notification five seconds later. These rules are unglamorous, and they decide whether a richer format helps or simply annoys people with better graphics.
Consent underpins all of it. Apple’s App Tracking Transparency and the long wind-down of third-party cookies pushed brands toward first-party, consent-based data. Messaging is where that consent is most visible to the customer, since opting in means agreeing to be contacted on a personal device. Clear opt-in language and honored opt-outs matter more here than in most channels.
Sources referenced in reporting: Community, SMS Marketing Review: 2025 Recap and 2026 Trends, MoEngage, 12 Mobile Marketing Trends to Watch in 2026, R Advertising, RCS 2.0 and Mobile Marketing in 2026, Realize, Mobile Marketing Trends 2026.