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Apple's iMessage Avoids EU's Digital Markets Act Regulation
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"Europe" is not a country
guess I should have been more specific. Shops are not allowed to be open on Sundays here in Germany. WOLT for example is also not allowed to deliver groceries on Sundays. Only "Food deliveries" are allowed on Sundays. Poland and Austria are the same I think.
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This was always going to be the case. People point to the fact that Apple switched connectors pretty much to the DAY when they said they would as Apple being forced to switch… by an EU deadline that, conveniently is one year AFTER Apple switched
… and expected the EU to be able to force Apple to change iMessage. I’m sure the regulators bent over backwards to try to make Apples Messages fit but in the end realized they should have included in their “gatekeeper” definition “companies with logos that are malus domestica”.I know that's the case in Germany."Europe" is not a country
The question is not being specific.
It's what's the EU got to do with it?
And Germany is probably right on that, not us but that is another issue.
A fair decision - iMessage is a very minor player over here - and kind of proof that the EU doesn't go after Apple per se.
Although, if iMessage had interoperability, that could boost its popularity outside the US.
Although, if iMessage had interoperability, that could boost its popularity outside the US.
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All messaging apps should work well enough together minus all the tinsel, ornaments, flashing lights. Meaning between each platform, they should be able to get an entire message in one bubble & be able to share all photos & videos.
Everything else like stickers, reactions on messages, & memojis are proprietary & have a right to be kept between specific platforms. Also, I don't care about what color the message bubble is.
Everything else like stickers, reactions on messages, & memojis are proprietary & have a right to be kept between specific platforms. Also, I don't care about what color the message bubble is.
It’s so weird that Europe started using this random messaging app instead of texting and iMessage years ago. I’m glad we use imessage in the US
You know as well as I do that SMS doesn't support group chats, MMS messaging is both expensive and archaic and IM is preferred by everyone.
To put it another way your message 20 years ago might have read "Why should iTunes exist on Windows? MP3's are fully supported already in software like WinAMP. In fact AAC is superior because..." In this scenario it was expanding support of the iPod to Windows that made Apple the company it is today.
If the iPhone was 20% of Apple's business they would have made Android more interoperable to sell more Macs. As it stands the iPhone is 70%+ of Apple's business owing to accessories and services being sold through it and they have no reason to do so.
Well, Apple has formally announced it will begin supporting RCS this year, so the “would be nice” is mute.
WhatsApp is actually older than iMessage.
But that's not the real reason. Nobody uses iMessage because not enough people use iPhones and the ones that use don't want to be locked out.
Sorry, but RCS being announced means nothing. Apple pre-announced it to avoid regulation. Now that they realize they aren't going to be regulated in this space, they can drag their feet all they want and might just cancel the feature if they think it compromises security or whatever other BS excuse they come up with. Apple isn't doing RCS because they love Android users. They just don't want the EU to have backdoors to encryption. Until this feature is announced as part of iOS 18 and in a developer beta, it doesn't exist.
Rather than forcing these platforms to interact what the EU should have done is gotten the Fraunhofer Institute (which invented the MP3 amongst other things) to create a new open standard for messaging platforms that functions like Email does in the sense that nobody owns it and anybody can build an app. SMS functions as a P2P communication and does not go through a server.
They then create legislation that says all device manufacturers must support this new industry standard out of the box.
So the EU is telling Apple that iMessage does not really matter, because it is too niche.
Of course it means nothing. WhatsApp is vastly superior to RCS and already in place and in use.
Nobody will care about RCS.
Apple dropped the ball on having the possibility to dominate IM but let's also remember Google's incompetence.
The only chance is perhaps that Google gets a second (or more accurately fifth or sixth or whatever) opportunity to use WhatsApp interoperability to get back to the game.
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That's stupid. This was the single thing we were looking forward to.
Instead of focusing on breaking up the App Store, the EU should have started with iMessage.
Imagine a world where there is interoperability between WhatsApp, iMessage, SMS/RCS, Telegram & al.
A single messaging app to reach anyone. On mobile & desktop computers. Windows/Linux & Mac.
This is the true service that the EU could have rendered to users.
Instead, their regulation will soon force us to download 10 different App Stores to access some apps... This is the opposite of convenience.
It's chicken & eggs. If iMessage was more interoperable, it would have had more users in EU... hence would be considered a major platform and would have needed regulation... just stupid...
Instead of focusing on breaking up the App Store, the EU should have started with iMessage.
Imagine a world where there is interoperability between WhatsApp, iMessage, SMS/RCS, Telegram & al.
A single messaging app to reach anyone. On mobile & desktop computers. Windows/Linux & Mac.
This is the true service that the EU could have rendered to users.
Instead, their regulation will soon force us to download 10 different App Stores to access some apps... This is the opposite of convenience.
It's chicken & eggs. If iMessage was more interoperable, it would have had more users in EU... hence would be considered a major platform and would have needed regulation... just stupid...
iMessage is also pretty confusing for non-techy people. Just the difference between blue and green bubbles is hard to comprehend for some. Then there is the issue of multiple identities like phone vs. email. It's a mess. WhatsApp just works and is extremely reliable.
It didn't make sense anyhow, iMessage was made by Apple. Why do they have to be required to practically give it up.
iMessage isn’t just your basic Texting there like it is here? I mean i have a lot of friends with android and the messages to them just go through as sms. It sucks but it’s not that big a deal.
iMessage is a thing in the U.S. only, very few use it in other countries.
Curiously yesterday someone was asking to "FaceTime" with the team in Europe, and many were like, what's that? Many had literally no idea what FaceTime was.
iMessage relies on so many iPhones existing that the opposition is steamrolled.
If there's critical mass it's becomes quite easy as you don't have to think about anything. Just use the built in app for every written communication beyond email.
But Apple doesn't have that leverage in Europe (in general).
Yes, iMessage is just that. The SMS app.
SMS being something nobody uses beyond notifications and stuff like that.
When you have 10 friends with 2 or 3 iPhone users nobody will stay with SMS.
When you watch Ted Lasso as an European you get an extra from having fun watching some USA quirks and particularities.
Having the title character doing that of course makes sense but all the others? It's just funny.
It's like the pager on old shows.
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Apple is publicly traded company. Should they renege on their statement, they surely would have the SEC and a bunch of disgruntled shareholders on their back.
It's extremely popular in Canada, too.
Yes, but the far more important metric is Spotify is > 0% a European based company.
And, it’s very likely true that, of that 40% market share, not ALL of those phones can actually access the current App Store due to being out of date. So, the market share of phones that can even use the current App Store is even lower than that.
I have an iPad 2 that can still access the app store, and it can still download compatible apps.
It wouldn't be able to access these new stores, but it can definitely still access the apple App Store.
Most of my friends now have iPhones. But they still always text on WhatsApp. It's like iMessage did not exist for them 🤷♂️.