Apple will adopt RCS in 2024

[The Morning After]( It's Friday, November 17, 2023. Apple has announced it will [begin supporting the RCS messaging standard at some point next year](. RCS, or Rich Communication Services, was developed by the mobile industry as an upgrade on SMS and MMS. But Apple has been resistant to adopt it both because it prefers its home-grown iMessage platform, and because it’s not secure by default. It doesn’t help that Google has used RCS as a cudgel in its own text-message–bubble-color culture war with the iPhone maker. In a statement, presumably typed through gritted teeth, Apple said RCS would offer better interoperability compared to SMS and MMS. But added that iMessage, which, unlike RCS, is end-to-end encrypted by default, remains the “best and most secure messaging experience.” It’s likely the change was, in part, motivated by the European Union, which has been turning its attention to the ways the technology industry makes life harder for consumers. — Dan Cooper ​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. [Subscribe right here!]( The biggest stories you might have missed [The best home theater gifts]( [The best wireless headphones]( [Google’s AI-powered search tool can help tackle your holiday shopping]( [The best gifts for book lovers]( [Lucid’s Gravity electric SUV will have a max range of 440 miles]( [Microsoft’s Copilot AI is officially coming to Windows 10]( [Amazon will start selling Hyundais next year]( You can click and collect (from your local dealership). [[Promotional image featuring a white, featureless office block so favored by bland corporate types, in front of which are a series of car-sized Amazon packages.] Amazon]( It’s hard to tell if there’s magic in buying a car, or if the dealership just puts on a show to make you think there is. We’ll find out for ourselves next year when [Amazon enables direct car sales on its platform](. The first automaker to sign up is Hyundai, who is, in return, adding Alexa to its 2025-era vehicles. [Continue Reading.]( [YouTube’s first AI-generated music tools can clone artist voices and turn hums into melodies]( John Legend and Charli XCX will let you use their vocal stylings. YouTube’s newest feature uses an AI to cook up 30-second backing tracks using the voices of high-profile artists. [With Dream Track, users specify a general idea for the system to knock out music and lyrics in the style of a selected star](. That includes Charli XCX and John Legend, who have both signed up to lend their simulated pipes to your next short clip. [Continue Reading.]( [Unity launches a suite of AI tools intended to simplify game creation]( Unity Muse costs $30 a month. Unity is now making its suite of AI-enhanced game development tools available to everyone for $30 a month. It’s designed to [take a lot of the hard work out of making a new title, by automating the coding process](. In the future, you can expect to see tools to create game graphics, set NPC behaviors and animate characters, which could be a very big deal indeed. [Continue Reading.]( [Hackers use a new SEC rule to snitch on the company they infiltrated]( Who’d have thought? Earlier this year, the SEC mandated companies had four days to notify regulators if they suffer a material cybersecurity breach. So, [when hackers accessed fintech company MeridianLink and saw the SEC hadn’t been notified, they took matters into their own hands](. Reporting was a way to force the company to negotiate, but it’s still wild to think they reported their own hack to regulators. [Continue Reading.]( [Kia’s latest EV concepts go big on geometrics and cabin vibes]( Retro-futurism never looked so boxy. [[Image of a Kia concept vehicle, a light green SUV on a light green background.] Kia]( Kia’s concept vehicles merit attention because so many features wind up carrying over to the production model. [So, if you’re curious about what a next-generation Kia will look like, take a gander at this gallery](. Hope you love boxy shapes and straight lines. [Continue Reading.]( The Morning After is a daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't [subscribe](. Craving even more? [Like us on Facebook]( or [follow us on Twitter](. Have a suggestion on how we can improve The Morning After? [Send us a note.]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( You are receiving this email because you opted in at [engadget.com](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe from this newsletter.]( Copyright © 2023 Yahoo. All rights reserved.