What This Guide Covers
Comprehensive documentation to help bridge UX gaps between iOS and Android platforms, based on real-world feedback from our partners.
What This Guide Is For
This guide is designed to close the UX design gaps between iOS (18.4) and Android platforms. Built on valuable insights from our partners, it presents essential design principles to promote a consistent and high-quality user experience across different operating systems.
How To Use It
Refer to this guide when creating business messaging experiences. It provides key design patterns and platform-aware considerations to support informed decisions and craft interactions that feel seamless, intuitive, and device-agnostic.
A Living Resource
As platforms and user expectations change, so will this guide. We’ll continue to update it based on platform enhancements and partner feedback, ensuring it remains relevant and practical over time.
Basic Text Message Guidelines for Android & iOS
While Google RCS for Business includes many advanced features, basic text is a great option for simple communication. It helps enhance quick, turn-based messaging and works seamlessly across platforms including Android and Apple RCS.
- Use only for simple text messages (i.e., Welcome message)
- Use max 160 characters
- Supports Google RCS messaging on iOS and Android
Note: Using multi-byte emojis or double-byte languages may decrease the character limit.
iOS Experience
Android Experience
Rich Card Format Guidelines for Android & iOS
Rich Cards allow you to deliver visually engaging content with a combination of media, text, and actions. For consistent display across iOS and Android, use the tall layout and follow formatting best practices. Rich Cards can include up to 3072 characters and max 100 MB file size.
- Use 3:2 media format with a 16:9 “safe area”
- Limit title and description to 3 lines total*
- Include one CTA (Call to Action)
- Support up to 3 suggested replies
- Uses “tall” media layout
- Accepted media formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG
Carousels Format Guidelines for Android & iOS
Carousels in RCS allow brands to showcase multiple rich cards in a scrollable format, ensuring a consistent and engaging experience with RCS on iPhone & Android using optimized media settings.
- Use 3:2 media format with a 25:9 “safe area”
- Limit title and description text to 3 lines max*
- Include one CTA (Call to Action)
- Support up to 3 suggested replies
- Use “Medium” width with “Medium” media height
- Accepted media formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG
Hyperlinks & Link Previews on iOS and Android
RCS messages on both iOS and Android support link previews, enhancing user engagement. To ensure proper rendering, use only one hyperlink per message and follow platform-specific preview rules to avoid display or loading issues.
- Only one hyperlink allowed per message
- Place the link at the end of the message for better preview behavior
- On iOS, use og:image meta tag to show rich card previews
- Without og:image, previews appear as basic tiles
- On Android, previews require a tap if disabled in settings
- Multiple links will not generate previews—only clickable text
iOS Link Previews
Android Link Previews
Horizontal Rich Cards on iOS and Android
Horizontal Rich Cards in RCS messaging provide a visually engaging format with media, short text, and a clear call-to-action. However, rendering differs across iOS and Android, affecting media visibility and cropping based on text length.
- Supports 1:1 media ratio with display limitations
- iOS renders media at 60x60 DP consistently
- Android shows more aggressive vertical cropping with longer text
- Allows up to 3 lines of text content
- Includes a single prominent CTA (suggested action)
- Layout and media behavior vary between iOS and Android interfaces
