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Apple Whatsapp users?

For me the real benefit of WhatsApp is setting up a group.

I have a group of me and four siblings and we can instantly communicate with the whole group, usually about aged parent issues. Siblings are not on iPhones so iMessage not an option.

I do not use WhatsApp for one to one chats.
 
Whatsapp is popular in my social group because it's cross-platform, not because iMessage was lacking in features. People I know are probably 60% Apple, 40% Android users, so it's convenient to only ever have to check one app for messages. And I almost never use the iMessage feature on my Mac.

Whatsapp is also much better (or was as of a year ago) at handling offline messaging. Meaning that if you send a message to a person without an internet connection, iMessage would muck around while Whatsapp would do as you'd expect - deliver the message as soon as the person is back online.

I'm seriously considering completely disabling iMessage in case I ever want to buy an Android phone in the future. Rather than dealing with the lost iMessage problem then I could deal with it now and never again..

I'm really hoping Whatsapp on iOS 8 will have a way to tap into Yosemite to display notifications on the Mac. I don't know if Apple will open it up to third parties, though
 
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CosmoPilot said:
I don't use this app, but many of my friends do. To be honest, I never understood it's usefulness. With Apple's new continuity feature allowing SMS messages to be sent and received from your iPads & Macs...are you considering ditching Whatsapp?

If so, think Facebook is concerned?
Click to expand...
You misunderstand the usefulness.

First, Whatsapp uses your phone number as your ID. This makes it a replacement for sms in a heartbeat, as opposed to other messaging services.

Second, it's cross-platform, as opposed to iMessage.

Third, it's dead simple to use. Again, as opposed to Hangouts and iMessage. Those are confusing since they deal with phone number and other ID's (Apple ID and Gmail) at the same time.

Fourth, it's got more features than sms. The most important is group chatting. Others are sharing your location, sharing photos and videos, setting group photos, wallpapers, etc.

All of these things are important and Whatsapp has them all. Most other services only have a few of these. Personally, I use Telegram (the app is faster + you can use it on the desktop) which basically is the same thing as Whatsapp.

The thing that should concern Facebook is the social graph. For Facebook itself, it's not a problem since Facebook owns the graph. For Whatsapp, it's different: the user owns the social graph, since Whatsapp uses phonenumber stored in your phone. Whatsapp does not 'own' users, they simply allow users to find each other. While that is convenient and easy, it also means it can be easily copied. Telegram is a prime example of this: it does the exact same thing as Whatsapp. Furthermore, I don't have to "switch": I can use both apps simultaneously. The cost of chosing another service over Whatsapp is zero.
 
Unless apple now allow free messages between platforms. As in. From an apple device to a windows,android, blackberry device than there is no replacement for whatsapp.

I can message my family all over the world using whatsapp. I can't with any apple messaging system.
 
It offered group chats at a time when iMessage didn't, and was cross platform, so you can communicate with friends on android phones as well. :)
 
I try not to use WhatsApp since it's now a Facebook's company... I only need my girlfriend and my best friend to get an iPhone to erase it, iMessage is awesome.
 
CosmoPilot said:
But I contact all my friends via SMS or iMessage...pretty simple too...really. In fact, I don't have a single contact (over 500) that I cannot contact this way...hmmm?
Click to expand...
What about those who are international and not on iOS devices, and perhaps contacting a few of them (in a group chat) from different places on different phones?
 
It's more about how many of your friends are already in there. Whatsapp was one of the first chat apps, so all of my friends have it. Line or Viber or anything else might be better (features wise, etc), but if they are not in it, it's "useless"
 
C DM said:
What about those who are international and not on iOS devices, and perhaps contacting a few of them (in a group chat) from different places on different phones?
Click to expand...

As I stated in an earlier post to this thread...I can see the utility when texting internationally. However, it seems WhatsApp is larger than just that. Since I rarely text anyone overseas (and if I do...I have free international SMS + iMessage). Of course, I don't use FB either. Perhaps I'm a dinosaur...
 
CosmoPilot said:
As I stated in an earlier post to this thread...I can see the utility when texting internationally. However, it seems WhatsApp is larger than just that. Since I rarely text anyone overseas (and if I do...I have free international SMS + iMessage). Of course, I don't use FB either. Perhaps I'm a dinosaur...
Click to expand...
Well, from that point of view, people ultimately use what works for them and what they like, even if there are other alternatives. There are those who like Toyota cars and those who like Honda cars and yet they do pretty much the same kinds of things ultimately and on a basic level there isn't really that sets one clearly apart from the other, just what individual people might find is better for them or simply what they like just because.
 
C DM said:
Well, from that point of view, people ultimately use what works for them and what they like, even if there are other alternatives. There are those who like Toyota cars and those who like Honda cars and yet they do pretty much the same kinds of things ultimately and on a basic level there isn't really that sets one clearly apart from the other, just what individual people might find is better for them or simply what they like just because.
Click to expand...

Agreed, and like you just said...whatever works. FB paid $19 billion for WhatsApp, so I must be missing something. I'm sure it's just a matter of time, before Android and iOS incorporate baked in solutions for cross platform messaging.
 
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