Epic sounds more and more desperate with each passing day.
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Apple's Rationale for Not Bringing iMessage to Android Revealed in Legal Documents
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It would effectively be a government mandated messaging service.
More like a government mandated protocol. Like SMS is already. The new protocol proposed was to update SMS so it can go over any internet connection instead of just your carrier. This would be a wee bit like how most carriers support wifi calling and would be a great help for people that need to get text messages but have to travel outside their village to get a signal when they already have a 1 Gbps internet connection at home.
The question is, should any government be involved in determining this? Where do you draw the line? Government mandated operating systems so that everything works everywhere etc?
The WhatsApp updated terms (even though it doesn't apply to EU) has raised the issue of data and privacy. I would love to stop using WhatsApp but there isn't a single viable alternative because WhatsApp is still dominant (even among those who have tried to switch to Signal and Telegram etc and realised that not all their contacts are on the same platform).
I think Apple was right to protect iMessage in 2016 and certainly in the US where WhatsApp is not dominant, but times have changed. The smartphone market is saturated and Apple could benefit from Android users, bolstering subscriptions to services and well as potentially opening up a whole new market if Apple Watch was available for Android users.
It’s the blue bubbles, as simple as that.
iMessage is only a big deal in the USA. WhatsApp is far bigger world wide. Im sure with messenger and WhatsApp Facebook (and IG in some way), FB has the largest messaging platform.
i just don’t see where epic is going with this as their complaint is about iOS as a whole everywhere. But when you look at iOS worldwide its still a minority sport compared to other services.
it’s almost as if epic are only concerned with iOS because it’s relatively small user base SPENDS THE MOST MONEY!
OH….
i get it now...
i just don’t see where epic is going with this as their complaint is about iOS as a whole everywhere. But when you look at iOS worldwide its still a minority sport compared to other services.
it’s almost as if epic are only concerned with iOS because it’s relatively small user base SPENDS THE MOST MONEY!
OH….
i get it now...
Governments are in charge of communications, not operating systems. But even then, your operating system has to conform to some standards or it just wont work. You are accessing a website in a manner that has all kinds of government control at various stages at it stands.
And really there is no downside to moving SMS to IP protocol, it'll just standardise what iMessage already does and the different clients will be able to build off that with unique features. The current case is if you don't have a phone signal then you can't send or receive a SMS. The biggest issue in the future will be that someone sent you a 'sticker' on android and some text but you can only read the text on your iPhone.
I agree there are plenty of elements where government already mandate certain things, my question what around where the limit should be for governments to set standards.
iMessage is pretty much the only game in town in Scotland and perhaps the entire UK. The rest of the time you just use unlimited SMS messages because chances are the other person is using any number of other messengers. Thankfully iMessage automagically sends a message or SMS depending on the recipient.
Its strange. iMessage could have been the leader in chat if Apple had opened it to other platforms, but instead it's used pretty marginally now days. I must have 10-20X more conversations through WhatsApp than iMessage. Even when the other participants have iPhones, almost nobody uses iMessage now days.
Surely there are plenty of subtle ways that Apple could have opened it up, back in the day, while ensuring that Apple devices still offered the best iMessage experience?
Surely there are plenty of subtle ways that Apple could have opened it up, back in the day, while ensuring that Apple devices still offered the best iMessage experience?
That would push this into a potentially political area. And given we are likely from different parts of the world, our views on that could be substantially different.
I’m not really sure apple cares how much you do or don’t use iMessage as long as you see it as a reason to buy an iPhone. That’s literally all they care about.
That is from your point. I have never heard of a soul outside of these forums using anything but iMessage and FaceTime. Even my husbands ex family in England only use iMessage and FaceTime.
That’s not exactly something most people haven’t concluded by themselves to be honest. there are already plenty of cross platform solutions for messaging, including encrypted ones. So it was obvious it was not a technical barrier that was stopping Apple from doing that. Same with FaceTime (didn’t Steve said it would be cross platform when it launched in 2010?)
This only becomes a problem if everybody around you is already locked into iOS. The way things stand right now worldwide, however, is that iOS proliferation rate is at around what, 15-20% at best? This made cross-platform apps as WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Viber, etc. very popular, as it works on “whatever”. And guess what? Once people get used to them, they are very unlikely to move elsewhere. Why should they if it works? The recent WhatsApp privacy fiasco scared some people away, but it did not necessarily encourage them to move into a safe and cozy Apple’s iMessage haven. Instead they embraced Signal & Telegram. Don’t get me wrong, I like iMessage, but, IMHO, it is nowhere as important as to keep somebody locked to Apple ecosystem. 🤷🏻♂️
Except when someone forgot to disassociate their Phone number with their old iPhone and it gets "confused" on occasions.
I live in the UK and pretty much everyone uses WhatsApp. I only send iMessages to my husband and a few select people
Lol apple cares deeply about privacy. That’s why they keep their distance from Android.
Exactly my experience. And it's not like iPhones are unpopular here. Easily > 50% of my friends and family have iPhones, but WhatsApp has become the default chat app.
Perhaps in your part of England that is the norm. It certainly isn't in the Scotland and as I said even my husbands ex family have iMessage and FaceTime and they aren't necessarily in a high income area.
Secondarily to iMessage and FaceTime. Skype is still popular and Discord for friends and clubs.
Even if I get all of my family onto an iPhone (just one more to go) and switch our family chat to iMessage, everything else will have to remain WhatsApp because friends all have a different combination of devices.
Let me guess, you're from the US?
I'm from Europe (Germany) and WhatsApp is the standard here. Some people jumped to Telegram/Signal due to privacy concerns and a growing dislike of Facebook but nobody I know uses iMessage precisely due to it being limited to iOS devices.
Android devices are popular here so you won't even reach half your friends with iMessages and nobody wants to use seperate messaging apps for different friends.
I live in Scotland, WhatsApp is that thing you only hear about on American forums. Telegram/Signal I've heard off and tried but everyone defaults to iMessage or Discord.