Tech giant Apple is preparing to almost retire old-style text messaging in some of the most significant updates to its Messages app in years, with the upcoming iOS 26.4 this spring.

The new iOS update would expand Apple’s support for RCS (Rich Communication Services) in a move to ditch the limitations of traditional SMS.

The update aims to create a modern, cross-platform messaging experience that aligns with modern communication practices.

RCS is said to be the telecom industry’s long-awaited successor to SMS and MMS, offering features that users expect from modern messaging apps like WhatsApp. It facilitates high-quality media sharing, read receipts, typing indicators, and reliable delivery over Wi-Fi or mobile data.

A noteworthy point for iPhone users is that RCS reduces the gap between Apple’s iMessage ecosystem and Android devices, replacing the unreliable “green bubble” SMS experience with a native chat experience.

“End-to-end encryption is a powerful privacy and security technology that iMessage has supported since the beginning, and now we are pleased to have helped lead a cross-industry effort to bring end-to-end encryption to the RCS Universal Profile,” Apple stated.

This means that encrypted conversations, previously limited to iMessage-to-iMessage chats, will now be converted into iPhone-to-Android texts, with privacy protections ensured across platforms.

iOS 26.4 has been reported to bring a series of functional improvements that were missing in earlier RCS implementations. Features such as inline replies, message editing, unsending, and richer reactions will definitely boost user experience and bring Apple’s RCS offering in line with its competitors.

These developments point to a clear shift in Apple’s approach to cross-platform communication, as internal beta builds indicate active collaboration with mobile networks to support this transition.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s friendship to Jeffrey Epstein was not only based on alleged wild parties, illicit activities, paedophilia and debauchery, it was also an exchange of important information that impacted global trade and international relations.

More revelations are coming out of the three million documents released by the US Department of Justice last week in the Epstein files. And apart from the disturbing email exchange with the convicted paedophile, one correspondence indicated that Andrew had been leaking crucial information.

The former Duke of York’s ‘Special Adviser’ Amit Patel seemed to have sent Andrew four attachments which were “visit reports for Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shenzhen in relation to your recent visit to South East Asia”. After five minutes of receiving the email, he forwarded it to the convicted financier.

The email had crucial and confidential information from at least four assessments in 2010 when Andrew was acting as a UK global trade envoy.

Former royal police commander Dai Davies asserts that a criminal investigation of King Charles’s brother is imminent now

“The failure to investigate Andrew across a range of alleged activity is a national scandal on the same scale as Mandelson. These emails show he abused his position,” he told The Sun. “The police simply have to know what was in these emails.”

He continued, “If he has divulged information of national importance, in a position of public trust, when he was funded by taxpayers, that must be investigated as a criminal act.”

Charlie Puth set the tone for Super Bowl LX with a piano-led performance of the US National Anthem, and while the moment drew applause inside Levi’s Stadium, it also sparked a wave of mixed reactions online as fans weighed in on his delivery.

Before either the New England Patriots or the Seattle Seahawks took the field, the singer opened the night by accompanying himself on electric piano, delivering a stripped-back yet emotional rendition. 

Puth began softly, gradually building intensity before his voice soared on the “rockets’ red glare” line, joined by a choir as joint Navy and Air Force jets flew over the stadium to close out the pre-game show. 

As the final note rang out, he lifted his arms and waved to the crowd, visibly soaking in the moment.

Puth’s performance came as part of a star-packed pre-show lineup that also included Coco Jones with Lift Every Voice and Sing, Brandi Carlile performing America the Beautiful, and Green Day. 

Bad Bunny headlined the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show later in the night.

In the lead-up to the game, Puth spoke about how seriously he was taking the moment. 

“I think the best way for me specifically to approach it is, the arrangement is everything for me,” he said during a recent conversation with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe and Ebro Darden. 

“I always reverse engineer how I hear my own music in my head and then it’s just kind of pulling it apart and making it a feasible product to hold. I’ve been rehearsing this in my head for months, if that makes sense.”

His appearance wasn’t without controversy even before kickoff. When some fans questioned whether he was the right choice for such an iconic slot, one X user compared him unfavourably to Whitney Houston’s legendary 1991 performance. 

Puth responded directly, writing, “I’ll never claim to be as good of a singer as Whitney Houston ever was. But I assure you we’re putting a really special arrangement together- in D major. It’ll be one of my best vocal performances.”

Fan’s react to Charlie Puth’s Super Bowl LX performance

Once the anthem aired, social media quickly filled with reactions. 

On Reddit’s music forum, opinions were split. 

One listener wrote, “The performance itself was fantastic, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the arrangement. Kind of corny.” 

Another commented, “Sounded like a Christmas carol,” while someone else added, “I got Disney song vibes.”

Questions about vocal effects dominated much of the discussion. 

One user claimed, “Idk to me it sounded very autotuned and pre-recorded…,” while another echoed the sentiment, saying, “You could literally hear it kicking in when he would get off key. Very off-putting.” 

A disappointed fan asked, “Why did he use auto tune?? He sounds so much better without it.”

Others rushed to his defence. 

“Not to be that gal, but of all the people that does not need auto tune, it’s Charlie,” one commenter wrote. 

“That man is a musical genius and has perfect pitch.” Another added, “Have you never heard him live? Dude has an internal auto tune God gifted him.” 

Praise also poured in from fans who loved the moment, with one writing, “This was easily one of the best renditions I’ve ever heard,” and another simply posting, “Bro absolutely cooked.”

On the popculture forum, the tone was more supportive. 

One fan urged critics to relax, writing, “He was great. Stop hating things.”

Another insisted, “His voice was wonderful and he wasn’t lip syncing,” while a third pointed out, “His voice really sounded like it had an effect on it so that he sounds like his albums. Now you can do certain effects live.”

The anthem performance comes as Puth continues the rollout for his upcoming fourth album, Whatever’s Clever, due out on March 27.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter last year, he hinted at a new chapter in his music, saying, “I can’t share when, but I do plan on putting music out soon. And when it does come out, I feel like a lot of question marks are going to be answered… Life for me is much different than it was 10 years ago when One Call Away or See You Again came out, so there’s some things to say.”

Whether viewed as stirring or overproduced, Charlie Puth’s Super Bowl LX anthem clearly struck a chord, sparking debate, praise and criticism in equal measure as fans across the internet shared their reactions in real time.