Emoji reactions finally look normal between iPhone and Android devices

Finally some good news for iPhone and Android users in the same group chat. Emoji reactions, or Tapbacks, now work properly between iPhone and Android messages.

According to The Verge, which discovered this quiet update, when an Android user sends a reaction to an iPhone via RCS message, the emoji displays inline instead of as a separate message. The same goes for when an iPhone user reacts to a message sent from an Android.

We tested this out for ourselves with Mashable Tech Editor and resident Android user Kim Gedeon — and it worked for both of us. For iPhone users just make sure you have the latest iOS 18 update.

Emojis work normally between our resident Android user and this iPhone user.
Credit: Screenshot: Mashable

And it works for Android users too.
Credit: Screenshot: Mashable

Incompatibly between iPhones and Androids, which cause the dreaded green bubble, have tested relationships for years. Androids rely on RCS messages, an end-to-end encrypted method that relies on connectivity provided by your carrier.

Apple uses its proprietary iMessage, an encrypted service that operates over Wi-Fi and cellular data networks, but it lacks seamless compatibility with RCS messaging. However, partly due to the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which enforces interoperability of devices, Apple finally relented and enabled RCS message support with the iOS 18 update.

Unfortunately, while messaging between iPhone and Android is starting to feeling somewhat normal, the green bubble remains.