RCS has taken years to get WAN support, and we still have operator interoperability issues. The current landscape is anything but complicated to manage, especially for consumers. But the subject may become a bit simpler once Android Q is launched, while a stack of new RCS-specific APIs has appeared in AOSP, presumably intended for the next Android version. These APIs can finally provide third-party applications with the ability to work with RCS on supported operators.

This is a complicated subject, but the short version is that, until now, RCS-enabled operators' customers were limited to using a few applications that they wanted to use the features of RCS. Google is associated with an entire stack of OEMs, including LG, Motorola, Sony, HTC, HMD Global / Nokia and many others to use. Android Messages for RCS and Samsung's email application are also compatible with RCS – although both solutions only work on some operators.

In the future, you may not need to limit yourself to specific applications to take advantage of RCS's features. Based on a stack of commits on the Gerrit AOSP project, a new set of APIs specific to RCS is being opened for an upcoming version of Android, almost surely.

If such changes are integrated with Android, it means all An email application willing to provide a little effort can support RCS – at least if your carrier supports the right set of standards. With Messages currently supporting Jibe, it is likely that third-party applications will get at least support for that. This could mean that you will not have to give up all the features of your favorite third-party email application just to use RCS.

Thanks to the operators, SCR may still be a disaster for the average consumer, but Android Q and 2019 could make things a lot easier.