Google Messages dual SIM RCS starts appearing

 Google Messages dual SIM RCS support sees wider rollout for more users 

Google Messages has been working on dual SIM RCS support since the beginning of this year, and now it's expanding its support to more users. RCS is a protocol for mobile messaging that is designed to replace SMS and MMS protocols, and allows for rich chat features like message reactions, read receipts and other chat features. Following are the some of the important points:-

Users report gaining access with Google Messages 20241018_01_RC00 beta build and later-released versions.

Dual SIM RCS for Google Messages seems to be rolling out to US users on various carriers.

A broader release of the dual SIM RCS feature is anticipated in the future, though a timeline is currently uncertain.

Hints surrounding dual SIM RCS support for Google Messages first started appearing in January this year, though it wasn't until August that the functionality started appearing for some. Fast-forward to October, and support started appearing a bit more widely, with Google Messages users from Canada and Pakistan reporting experiencing dual SIM RCS with Google Messages version 20241018_01_RC00 beta. US user reports, during this time, remained sparse. The dual SIM RCS feature allows you to have two numbers with RCS support simultaneously. You are able to go to Settings and then RCS and you will see the status of both SIMs. You can disable or enable each SIM RCS support from there as well. 

The most recent reports, however, paint a more optimistic picture for Google Messages users in the US. Users across various carriers, including US Mobile, Visible, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and Google Fi have started gaining dual SIM RCS support within Google Messages, signalling a wider roll-out is currently happening. The feature has been in its testing phase in recent months, with some users spotting it here and there on their devices. Now, more users are seeing it with the latest Google Messages beta (version 20241018_01_RC00+). Users on Google Fi, T-Mobile, Verizon, and other big carriers have seen it, across different phone models, including devices from Samsung.

The feature also works if you have a physical SIM and an eSIM (an eSIM is a SIM card embedded in your device which cannot be taken out like a regular SIM, most modern phones come with eSIM support). Notably, users have indicated that the functionality is automatically enabled, with no actions required to activate it in Google Messages 20241018_01_RC00 beta. Other users running the same (or later released) Google Messages beta build with the same carriers have indicated not gaining access, suggesting that the feature might be rolling out as a server-side update and your mileage with it may currently vary. Stable release timeline is still uncertain

In other recent Google Messages developments, the messaging platform is testing out two new features in the app's version 20241029_00_RC00 beta build, a timestamp swipe gesture and an option to select image resolution when sending media. The former, as its name suggests, will allow users to swipe left on a message to reveal when it was sent. For reference, previously, users had to tap each message individually to see timestamps. The feature rolling out to some means it'll soon be available to all, which is a big news for Android users with more than one phone number in a single device. It's worth noting, however, that a timeline for when the feature might be available in stable is currently uncertain, especially since Google has been silent about the rollout.

However, it's important to note that not all Google Messages users have received the update yet. It's a server-side rollout. For the moment, its official global release is still unknown, but it may become clear in the near future. The option to have dual RCS very useful. Hopefully, the global rollout will be sooner rather than later. The latter, akin to WhatsApp, will allow users to choose between HD (optimized for chat) and HD+ (original quality) image resolutions when sending media.