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I think Apple should bring iMessage to Windows before they bring it to Android.

Many workplaces require that you have a Windows laptop. None require that you have an Android phone (at least, none that I know of). It'd be nice if I could send and receive iMessage from my Windows laptop from work.

They could just throw it into icloud.com - I already use that a lot for accessing my various iWork documents and Notes from my work computer.
THIS! Can't believe this hasn't been done already: iMessage baked into iCloud.com. Oh well, Messenger (FB) is a better chat client anyway, I'm happy to continue using that on phone and work desktop.
 
"the degree to which iMessage's 'stickiness' is acting as the glue to help keep users loyal to iOS"

I've never heard anyone cite iMessage as a reason for preferring iOS to Android.

As others have pointed out, there are already a number of other cross-platform ways of exchanging text messages. I'd personally prefer to see FaceTime supported on Android, since the only other option I'm aware of is Skype, which sucks.

There was a whole lawsuit over iMessages stickiness... Remember how iPhone users that switched to Android were losing text messages to iMessage purgatory because they forgot to turn it off before deactivating their old iPhone? People switched back to iPhone because of that bug!

I don't know if I would give iMessage a try if it was ever released on Android, I'm too afraid that if i ever turned it off I would still lose messages from iPhone users. But it is definitely a huge perk of owning an Apple device and one of the only reasons I could see for picking up an iPhone.
 
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I thought the inclusion of iMessage apps destroyed any chances for a cross-platform release for good. I can’t see them distributing a less-capable version of the platform for Android. Even OS X should eventually get those.
 
"the degree to which iMessage's 'stickiness' is acting as the glue to help keep users loyal to iOS"

I've never heard anyone cite iMessage as a reason for preferring iOS to Android.

As others have pointed out, there are already a number of other cross-platform ways of exchanging text messages. I'd personally prefer to see FaceTime supported on Android, since the only other option I'm aware of is Skype, which sucks.
Google Hangouts works cross-platform, too. That's what I use when I video chat with my parents for my 2 1/2 year old daughter.

I don't think I've tried it since iOS 10 which allows the deeper VOIP integration, though, to see how that works.
 
This! Apple could charge money for iMessage on android and the result would be a massive influx of revenue. Make it a fee per month, or year to use the service. Apple could then concentrate on making the best phones again, and all will be well :).

Why would anyone pay to use this service when WhatsApp, Facebook messenger and others already do the same thing for free?
 
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If they make iMessage work in any platform I will look into ditching iOS as its the main reason I have an iPhone.
 
iMessage must be a USA thing. I never get a blue bubble. It just doesn't happen.

At this point I think Apple has lost it. To be fair Google has also lost it. Google has the small change of managing to reverse it through a iMessage type of app (standard SMS app with hybrid messaging) but still it will be quite difficult. Allo is probably something like that.

At this point iMessage is probably more useful to keep US users than to lure anyone. Still that is kind of sad (if that is the reason). Apple is all about wanting to use something, not being forced into it.
 
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BBM was the loyalty card for BB users and when they tried to expand to other platforms, it was already too late. While Apple isn't BB at the moment, I think that expanding to Android is an idea worth taking a serious look at. It's not as if they don't have experience writing for Android.

This. BlackBerry's biggest failing wasn't it's hardware, it was the reluctance to see BBM as the dominant cross-platform messaging tool in the future.

There's a great book that's well worth a read called, "Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry". It has interesting insights as to the discussion of taking BBM cross-platform between the Co-CEO's Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie when BlackBerry was at the peak of it's reign.

Personally I'm disheartened that my friends and family don't use BBM but if iMessage were cross-platform to go I'd happily use that.
 
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I can't see Android users embracing iMessage. I think they would rather continue to get regular SMSs from their iOS-using friends than install yet another messaging app.

You'd probably be surprised. I commonly see American Android users lamenting being left out of group chats due to iMessage. If iMessage offered SMS fallback on Android if it launched, you'd see plenty of people switch to it.
 
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I see many here missing an important point:

If this app is well integrated into the iCloud/Apple ecosystem, then it could serve to keep or even attract users to the Mac.

As an Android + Mac user, having an iMessage pop up on my Android phone and my Mac would be excellent.

Apple should migrate all of their services, even if in more limited form, to Android, much the same way Google puts their services on the Mac and iOS.

This way Apple gets to keep their foot in the door, as it were.

Hope this happens, but I doubt it...waiting to see.
 
Hope it gets shelved. It's one of the only unique features on iOS

And, that means what? Because it's a unique feature, people are more apt to buy an iPhone over Android? Doubtful. I've never heard a single person say they chose an iPhone instead of an Android because of iMessage. Maybe if Apple stepped up innovation on their iPhone to increase the sluggish sales, they wouldn't have to worry about the competition!

iMessage has great functionality and seeing it on Android, I think, would be a great thing.
 
No thanks. Whatsapp is much better.
Nope. Few reasons in my opinion:
  • It is owned by Facebook
  • Images are sent way too compressed and without geotags
  • Can't do videocalling (iMessage, FaceTime and FaceTime Audio are tied)
  • It is cluttered and a very big app in size
  • No bubble effects
  • No rich notificatons
 
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But where is the multi-party FaceTime? Such a disappointment that this capability was dropped when FaceTime was introduced. iChat was truly ahead of its time, I guess.
Apple got sued by a patent troll, VirtnetX and is unable to do it now.
 
WhatsApp pretty much dominates messaging in Europe, if not everywhere else, bar the States. I've known a grand total of three people who regularly use iMessage since I got my first iPhone - and I'm one of them - out of at least a hundred iPhone users.
Indeed. While I sometimes receive (and send) iMessages, it's basically in lieu of an SMS, sent to or received from people I don't know if use Whatsapp and similar apps.
 
Nope. Few reasons in my opinion:
  • It is owned by Facebook - Who cares, iMessage is owned by Apple. Not like it's more noble.
  • Images are sent way too compressed and without geotags - Most people don't care for this and images are fine.
  • Can't do videocalling (iMessage, FaceTime and FaceTime Audio are tied) - Soon to be implemented.
  • It is cluttered and a very big app in size - Not true
  • No bubble effects - So what?
  • No rich notificatons - Not a dealbreaker.

For the things you complain about, I'll take those missing features if it means having an app thats on iOS and Android. iMessage is still useless to more than half cell phone market.
 
Most Android users I know hate Apple for irrational reasons, just because they are Apple.

So now you'd have to convince Android users to download a new app, sign up for an appleid, and install iMessage.

And even then, I doubt it would hook to the phone number like it does with iPhones, so you'd have to start iMessage chats with people using their appleid email addresses. Or the Android user would have to start the conversation.

I don't think the majority of my friends; who are all mostly Android users, would go for such a thing.

Now the SMS synchronizes between my mac, iPhone and iPad, I don't really care if people have iMessage or don't, and I just don't see Android users totally ditching their current SMS apps so they can hook into Apple's ecosystem, when they are trying to avoid it in the first place.
 
This! Apple could charge money for iMessage on android and the result would be a massive influx of revenue. Make it a fee per month, or year to use the service. Apple could then concentrate on making the best phones again, and all will be well :).
Then let Google charge all apps for iOS users too which includes their Gmail and Google Maps while have it free for Android users. That's fair, right?

iMessages is for mobile devices being a messaging app. Not many people text from a Windows PC. That's 85% of people globally using Android. As popular as iOS is, Google services are still more popular.
 
iMessage must be a USA thing. I never get a blue bubble. It just doesn't happen.

At this point I think Apple has lost it. To be fair Google has also lost it. Google has the small change of managing to reverse it through a iMessage type of app (standard SMS app with hybrid messaging) but still it will be quite difficult. Allo is probably something like that.

At this point iMessage is probably more useful to keep US users than to lure anyone. Still that is kind of sad (if that is the reason). Apple is all about wanting to use something, not being forced into it.
People still believing that one thing keeps people in are delusional.
 
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BBM was the loyalty card for BB users and when they tried to expand to other platforms, it was already too late. While Apple isn't BB at the moment, I think that expanding to Android is an idea worth taking a serious look at. It's not as if they don't have experience writing for Android.

It really surprises me that there's so many messaging apps out there and not one has been universally adopted as a standard.

Yes and it's kind of annoying. I would say Whatsapp is probably the closest to being the most universally adopted. Facebook messenger is probably up there as well. Personally I use whatsapp with most people because of the web platform.

If iMessage goes multi platform it will be interesting to see if it can still come in and become the standard. I think it has a better chance then BBM did. That being said Apple is terrible at creating web based app which is a big reason I'm rely less on Apple created apps. I like being able to log in on any computer and get what I need done.
 
Most Android users I know hate Apple for irrational reasons, just because they are Apple.

So now you'd have to convince Android users to download a new app, sign up for an appleid, and install iMessage.

And even then, I doubt it would hook to the phone number like it does with iPhones, so you'd have to start iMessage chats with people using their appleid email addresses. Or the Android user would have to start the conversation.

I don't think the majority of my friends; who are all mostly Android users, would go for such a thing.

Now the SMS synchronizes between my mac, iPhone and iPad, I don't really care if people have iMessage or don't, and I just don't see Android users totally ditching their current SMS apps so they can hook into Apple's ecosystem, when they are trying to avoid it in the first place.
The irrational ones are but a few doomed to fail. Others are normal ordinary people.
 
Perhaps iMessage will come to Android once the rumored ApplePay person-to-person rolls out. That might be enough incentive for Apple to do it, if they can grift a couple points off the top.
 
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