Google Messages moves closer to supporting RCS video calls

The arrival of RCS has already proven to be huge for Google Messages, helping to modernize the features Android users expect from their text messaging, while helping to level the playing field with iOS. RCS is far from a one-trick pony, and even now that it’s here, we’re still on the lookout for the latest RCS upgrades to arrive. RCS video calling support has been on our radar recently, and this week we’re seeing further progress in messaging.

Although Messages already supports video calling, whether Google Meet or carrier-based ViLTE, we learned earlier this year that RCS Universal Profile 4.0 was going to make its own video, allowing you to easily start calls directly from chats.

In May, we identified what looked like very early groundwork for implementing RCS video calling support in Messages. We only had one text string back then, but now, in the new version of the messages.android_20260924_00_RC00.phone.openbeta_dynamic app, we find much more supporting evidence.

Little by little, it looks like Google is starting to build out the user interface we’ll need to connect via RCS video calls. For example, take a look at these strings that appear to be part of the confirmation screens we’ll see when initiating calls:

While the strings themselves are fairly innocuous, the accompanying labels help establish that this is related to RCS video support.

In addition to these, we also spot a few other new references in the form of internal checks that the application prepares, function names and included files.

Even with all of these new findings, we’re still not at the point where we can show you a proper RCS video calling interface, or offer much more than continued assurance that: Yes, Google certainly seems to be working on this. For such a visual-first feature, it’s disappointing, but we’ll keep digging into new releases, hoping to find something a little more substantial to share next time.