Do you fear being "green bubbled" if you switch from an iPhone?

[noobinator]

I did not know this was a thing until reading someone say it here recently. And I was certain they were messing around but upon further review it appears they were serious. Does anyone really fear switching from an iPhone because you don't want to lose your blue bubble? I'm not talking about losing the benefits of iOS, I'm simply talking about the physical color of the message bubble.

Is it some sort of social stigma in the iOS community to be "green bubbled?" lol

 

[webbuzz]

No. I don’t plan on switching from iOS anything me soon.

 

[SJTrance]

I don't fear that as much as not being able to seamlessly FaceTime with my brother and his kids and the easy integration of Apple TV. I've been a long time apple nut and I'm considering going away to the Note 8 or the Google Pixel 2. I'm genuinely worried. lol.

 

[Diorama]

Speak ye not of the green bubbled ones;
For they are as the dead.
Mere shadows of their former selves,
Think different

Jobs 12:18

 

[Gregintosh]

For me, it would make keeping in touch with people far more difficult. Right now I’m abroad and iOS makes it easy to text my parents or call them for free. Same with many friends. Having people try installing different apps and explaining how to use them to my parents would be a huuuugeeee hassle.

 

[maflynn]

No, I don't fear a green bubble, but losing the integrated environment, that is using messages on OS X, is a great tool, if I switch to Android, I lose that ability.

 

[Glideslope]

Too funny. When I see the Green Bubble internally I say, UGH. I feel like I'm having a conversation with no clothes on. Maybe I should see a therapist?

 

[eyoungren]

I did not know this was a thing until reading someone say it here recently. And I was certain they were messing around but upon further review it appears they were serious. Does anyone really fear switching from an iPhone because you don't want to lose your blue bubble? I'm not talking about losing the benefits of iOS, I'm simply talking about the physical color of the message bubble.

Is it some sort of social stigma in the iOS community to be "green bubbled?" lol

No. MMS has been available as an option for years.

Next upgrade is an Android phone.
[doublepost=1507559921][/doublepost]

No, I don't fear a green bubble, but losing the integrated environment, that is using messages on OS X, is a great tool, if I switch to Android, I lose that ability.

I don't understand this.

Most plans allow unlimited texting now. Other than the fact that iMessage goes through Apple's servers and allows you to avoid carrier fees for international texting what is the difference between texting someone and sending them an iMessage?

I have at least two people (my mom included) that have iPhones but communication with them is through SMS and not iMessage.

I see no difference.

OH, wait. You mean using iMessage on a computer? What about Pushbullet if that's the case?

 

[bkrbyndr]

I almost never use iMessage, I often use WhatsApp even I have unlimited free sms.

 

[maflynn]

I don't understand this.

My family has all iPhones, and so I can send them a message from my Mac. When I was on android, I lost that ability, I had to text them from my phone. Today, I can use my iMac, my MBP, or my iPad to respond to their messages. With an android phone, I'll only be able to use my phone.

 

[eric3312]

No. MMS has been available as an option for years.

Next upgrade is an Android phone.
[doublepost=1507559921][/doublepost]
I don't understand this.

Most plans allow unlimited texting now. Other than the fact that iMessage goes through Apple's servers and allows you to avoid carrier fees for international texting what is the difference between texting someone and sending them an iMessage?

I have at least two people (my mom included) that have iPhones but communication with them is through SMS and not iMessage.

I see no difference.

OH, wait. You mean using iMessage on a computer? What about Pushbullet if that's the case?

The main difference is this: compression of photos and videos.

SMS compresses the hell out of everything. If I am on an Android device and my wife sends me a 2 minute video of my son at a sporting event, I can’t event tell what the video is..it’s pixelated and thumbnail size. It’s atrocious.

But, if my wife and I both have iPhones, we can send the same videos and the compression is non existent. So, my wife will send me 10 photos and 3 videos in one send operation and I’ll get all of them in perfect quality.

That’s the main/big difference (at least to me)

 

[Phil A.]

I'm with O2 in the UK and they still charge a fortune for MMS messages (even though I have unlimited SMS) - I think it's around £0.35 per message which is a good reason to have MMS disabled (which I do).
My social circle includes people with iOS and Android and we tend to use facebook messenger or skype so I've not really noticed any change since I moved to my S8 (both Skype and FB messenger have desktop apps and sync across all my devices)

 

[Jesla]

I want Red, but first I need to pop this darn bubble....

 

[iMi]

When Apple neglected the iMac and other devices were stagnant and the macOS and iOS started to look like they were designed by a crayon happy 10-year-old, I tried different platforms. I even tried a Windows phone with a Windows computer.

Getting of iMessage was a nightmare. I missed so many text messages. It made me upset with Apple (I still think it's wrong that Apple sucks you in this way and makes it so difficult to leave) but once I was out of the "walled garden," I missed it. I wanted to go back

Apple is far from perfect, but now I really have no interest in leaving again. Green bubbles don't scare me, but they are an inconvenient byproduct of the ecosystem being so well stitched together. It's all doable and the world doesn't end when you miss a text message.

 

[nia820]

I don't care how other people see messages. Where I live most people don't even use iMessages. They use whatsapp.

I recently went back to Android after being sandboxed by iOS for the past 3 years . iMessages was the least of my concern when switching.
[doublepost=1507561429][/doublepost]

The main difference is this: compression of photos and videos.

SMS compresses the hell out of everything. If I am on an Android device and my wife sends me a 2 minute video of my son at a sporting event, I can’t event tell what the video is..it’s pixelated and thumbnail size. It’s atrocious.

But, if my wife and I both have iPhones, we can send the same videos and the compression is non existent. So, my wife will send me 10 photos and 3 videos in one send operation and I’ll get all of them in perfect quality.

That’s the main/big difference (at least to me)

Theee are third party apps like whatsapp and hangouts that solve that issue. In fact you'll find third party apps are more functional than iMessages.

 

[joeblow7777]

Never understood what the fuss over iMessage was. I guess it's perfect if all of your contacts are iphone users, but I'm at about a 50/50 split. As often as not, I use FB Messenger.

 

[Diorama]

Theee are third party apps like whatsapp and hangouts that solve that issue. In fact you'll find third party apps are more functional than iMessages.

Yeah who needs everything in one place? Clearly with Hangouts Android has the messaging advantage over Apple.

 

[eyoungren]

The main difference is this: compression of photos and videos.

SMS compresses the hell out of everything. If I am on an Android device and my wife sends me a 2 minute video of my son at a sporting event, I can’t event tell what the video is..it’s pixelated and thumbnail size. It’s atrocious.

But, if my wife and I both have iPhones, we can send the same videos and the compression is non existent. So, my wife will send me 10 photos and 3 videos in one send operation and I’ll get all of them in perfect quality.

That’s the main/big difference (at least to me)

OK. I guess that's where my usage comes in which would explain things.

My wife and I will pass pictures back and forth but they are usually things we find off the internet. We rarely use video (and I've never texted her a video) and we rarely take pictures of any importance.

If we were doing what you do then I could see this as an issue.

Thanks for clarifying.
[doublepost=1507562085][/doublepost]

I want Red, but first I need to pop this darn bubble....

Jailbreak. You can do that.

 

[noobinator]

For me, it would make keeping in touch with people far more difficult. Right now I’m abroad and iOS makes it easy to text my parents or call them for free. Same with many friends. Having people try installing different apps and explaining how to use them to my parents would be a huuuugeeee hassle.

Can't you just use SMS/MMS that's built in to whatever phone you use and not use a 3rd party app that they all must download? Or do you mean you will only have WiFi?

 

[nia820]

Yeah who needs everything in one place? Clearly with Hangouts Android has the messaging advantage over Apple.

I'm not saying not to use iMessage. It's great if everyone you know has an iPhone. But you made a comment about sending pictures and videos through SMS. I was merely pointing out that there are apps like whatsapp that people use daily to share high quality videos and photos without compression.

In fact outside the US no one uses iMessages. Whatsapp, telegram and in line are the most popular messaging platforms.
[doublepost=1507562495][/doublepost]

Never understood what the fuss over iMessage was. I guess it's perfect if all of your contacts are iphone users, but I'm at about a 50/50 split. As often as not, I use FB Messenger.

Same here. I live in Qatar and there is a mix of Android and iOS so eveyone pretty much uses whatsapp. When I was in England and Malaysia it was the same thing.

However back in the states most of my friends do have iphones so they communicate via iMessage.

 

[cipher29]

No offence, but seriously, who gives a crap?

 

[DNichter]

No fear, but I don't have any reasons to switch away from iOS.

 

[noobinator]

No offence, but seriously, who gives a crap?

At least 8 people so far.

 

[RickInHouston]

My family has all iPhones, and so I can send them a message from my Mac. When I was on android, I lost that ability, I had to text them from my phone. Today, I can use my iMac, my MBP, or my iPad to respond to their messages. With an android phone, I'll only be able to use my phone.

Until you install MightyText.

 

[5105973]

I understand the OP is asking about us worrying about social stigmatization and not inconvenience, but the inconvenience factor is pretty significant in my part of the USA. I answered “yes” because I did find in my time as a green bubble person that I was getting weird reactions. People would follow up and say “your text bubble turned green, so I am not sure if our texts are going through properly....” It confuses some people who know only blue bubbles.

And I don’t look down on them for that, as it confused me the first time my friend from India decided she had to give up her iPhone and bought a Samsung for her trips back home. Her bubbles turned green and I had to ask my husband what happened. Duh

I sometimes prefer Android phones but Android at the present time lacks as compelling and cohesive an ecosystem as Apple has. I really love my Apple Watch. And I simply in the end could not give up iMessage or the Apple Watch.

So I’m not giving up Apple, ever, as far as I can see. However, I will keep my second line dedicated to Android and all the things I like about what’s happening on the Android side of the world.