More phones on Sprint add RCS support for Google Messenger

In November, Google confirmed that Sprint would be the company’s first wireless carrier partner to offer Android customers its universal Rich Communications Services (RCS) support. This week, Sprint has quietly added more phones that support RCS with the latest version of Google Messenger.

According to user posts on Reddit, RCS support in Google Messenger has been spotted working on the Moto G4 Play, the LG V20, the LG G4 and the Nexus 5X. Previously, RCS support was limited to the Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones that were set up on Sprint’s network. The Reddit posts note that RCS support seems to be hit and miss on these new phones, so your mileage may vary.

RCS is supposed to be the next generation messaging protocol, replacing the older SMS and MMS standards. It supports features such as group chat, high-res photo sharing, read receipts, and more. Google already announced that all Android devices on Sprint will come with Messenger for Android preloaded as the default messaging experience starting sometime in 2017.

If you own one of the above phones on Sprint’s network, is Google Messenger enabled with the new “enhanced messaging” features?