Google mission to add an extra layer of polish to its mobile OS continues with Android 17. With last year's update, the company focused on upgrading its notification experience and adding a big-screen desktop mode.

One of the most notable additions in iOS 26.5 is support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging in the Messages app. While it’s still technically labeled as a beta feature and limited to supported carriers, it’s the first step toward iPhone users being able to chat securely with their Android friends.

The walls are coming down, but which side of the fence is better? We pit Apple and Google against each other across 14 essential categories to see who truly rules the smartphone space.

Apple is finally making the whole ordeal of messaging Android users, aka green bubbles, more secure with end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging. On Monday, Apple pushed out the encrypted messaging feature as part of a beta in iOS 26.

Apple has rolled out iOS 26.5, potentially the last major update before iOS 27's preview at WWDC. This crucial release brings end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging for iPhone-Android communication, a feature currently in beta and dependent on carrier support.