What you need to know
- A discovery in the latest Google Messages beta shows the company could bring full RCS support to Wear OS devices.
- Such support would let LTE and Wi-Fi smartwatches send RCS texts without relying on the connection between it and your phone.
- Wear OS 5 recently started arriving for the two past-gen Pixel watches, but was cut off due to a crippling issue.
Google might look to give its Wear OS software a much-needed upgrade for its messaging experience.
A look into the recent Google Messages beta (v20240926), lines of code suggests Wear OS could pick up full RCS messaging support. The discovery was made by known X tipster AssembleDebug in conjunction with Android Authority. Several newly added strings of code in the beta beginning with "bugle.enable_wear" mention new "standalone" support.
The post states this "standalone" addition regards RCS, RCS settings, and voice messaging.
Unfortunately, the initial discovery is extremely light on sufficient information. The tipster couldn't uncover the look of the RCS settings on Wear OS nor could they test this support. Google is likely still deep in development for tying Wear OS-ready watches to its RCS servers through the Messages app.
Speaking of the RCS servers, this is exactly the issue, as noted by the publication. Wear OS devices "can" send RCS texts, but this relies on its connection with your phone — even LTE models. However, if Google proceeds with its development of proper RCS on smartwatches, users could send and receive such texts without relying on their phones.
What's also unclear is how soon Wear OS users expect this RCS update. Wear OS 5 arrived on the Pixel Watch 3 and recently started rolling out on the two past-gen devices in the series. The update includes bug fixes and a few new updates for Pixel Recorder functionality, a new grid-view app launcher, and upgraded camera controls. However, the update was shut down due to crippling issues plaguing some users.
Concerning RCS, we may have to look forward to a future Android drop including something for Wear OS users to sift through.
RCS is a messaging standard Google has been pushing and incorporating across devices for a while now. The company has even urged its competitor, Apple, to do the same while citing the positives RCS brings. The standard keeps media quality high, ensures our group chats remain stable, and noteworthy E2EE (end-to-end encryption) to our conversations.
Apple also finally gave in and brought RCS support to the iPhone via its iOS 18 update in September. While the patch brought its functionality, iPhone users communicating with Android still lack a crucial aspect: E2EE.
Guess who's back
The Pixel Watch 3 comes in and makes good on what users felt Google could've gotten better with the Pixel Watch 2. Google upgraded this watch with a better battery that should take you a little more than a day. More importantly, Wear OS 5 packs loads of new features and a refreshed experience that (hopefully) continues.
