Google Messages is shutting down support for RCS video calls

Google Messages is shutting down support for RCS video calls

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TL; DR

  • The RCS standard has supported local video calls in chats.
  • Earlier this year, we saw Google Messages make the first reference to support for RCS video calls.
  • The feature isn’t live yet, but new evidence suggests Google is making further progress.

The arrival of RCS has proven to be huge for Google Messages, helping to update the features Android users have come to expect from text messaging while helping to level the playing field with iOS. RCS is far from a one-trick pony, and even though it’s already here, we’re always waiting for the latest RCS updates to arrive. One that’s been on our radar recently has been support for RCS video calls, and this week we’re seeing some new advancements in Messages.

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Whether we’re talking about Google Meet or carrier-based ViLTE, while Messages already supports video calling, earlier this year we learned that RCS Universal Profile 4.0 will do its own video work, allowing calls to be easily started from live chats.

Back in May, we revealed very early work on implementing RCS video calling support in Messages. Back then, we only had one text line, but now in the new version of the app, messages.android_20260924_00_RC00.phone.openbeta_dynamic, we’re finding more evidence.

Little by little, it looks like Google is starting to build the user interface needed to connect via RCS video calls. For example, look at these lines that are part of the confirmation screens you see when you start calls:

Code

Call
Cancel
Call?
Call %1$s?

Although the lines themselves are quite harmless, the symbols that accompany them help to determine whether they are related to RCS video support.

In addition to these, we’re also noticing a few new references in the form of some internal checks, function names, and included files that the app is preparing.

Code

Ignoring RCS video call request: no RcsVideoController is bound.
Ignoring RCS video call request: recipients are not reachable over RCS video.
launchRcsVideoCall$
RcsVideoCapabilityCheckerImpl.kt

Despite all these new discoveries, we’re still not at the point where we can show you a proper RCS video call interface or offer much more than seamless reliability: yes, Google seems to be working on it. It’s disappointing for a feature that’s primarily visual, but we’ll keep looking for new releases, hopefully next time we’ll find something a little more substantial to share.

⚠️ An APK hack helps predict future opportunities based on work-in-progress code. However, such alleged features may not make it to public release.

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