It might finally be happening. A new Google Voice update plants seeds of RCS support, though the exact details remain unclear.
About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.
Google Voice is an invaluable tool for accessing one phone number across a host of different devices, but to say it’s becoming less impactful without support for RCS is a bit of an understatement. Now that virtually every Android phone and iPhone supports the new messaging experience, Google Voice is less useful both for business and consumer users.
But that seems to be changing.
Google Voice for Android version 2026.11.01.1014278023 doesn’t enable RCS, but it does, for the first time, actually hint that the functionality might be on its way. In a teardown of the app, one simple string stands out:
That points to a new send button used for RCS messages rather than SMS. Google Messages similarly changes its send button to differentiate between the two standards.
This update contains a host of other new strings around images, videos, and more, but none of them are directly tied to RCS support.
The folks over at Android Authority dug up some other tidbits about RCS including an “RCS chat preference” toggle and various RCS actions and messages. But, again, nothing is live just yet, and there’s no word on when it might arrive, if ever.
Google has been championing RCS support for over a decade now, so it’s long past due for Voice, a long-running Google product, to get on board. While the tidbits in this update don’t serve as any confirmation RCS if coming to Voice, it’s the most exciting update on the matter in years.
More on Google Voice & RCS:
- Google Voice now offers paid tiers with call recording & Gemini for personal accounts
- Encrypted RCS starts rolling out to Android and iPhone with iOS 26.5
- Google Voice adds Gemini ‘Take notes for me’
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