The beauty of iMessage is that it’s built in. If Android users want iMessage then guess what, all they have to do is buy an iPhone. Don’t buy a competing product and whinge about what it doesn’t have like a sook, buy the product that does have what you want. Pretty simply really.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The MacRumors Show: Should Apple Allow iMessage for Android?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Based on this example then I assume that Europeans should be able to buy a Skoda and then whinge and moan about it not having BMW’s features and how unfair that is, or they could just pony up and buy a BMW. Europeans aren’t that clever if they don’t even make their own handsets and would rather whinge like cry baby’s about what other countries are making. How’s Nokia coming along? Oh that’s right….
It looks like you’ve missed the point. If I buy a BMW and a friend of mine buys a Skoda then we can both drive on the same roads.
However, if I use IOS and a friend uses Android, we can not both communicate using iMessage. And it is for that reason that I very rarely (as an iPhone owner) use iMessage. Everyone I know here in the U.K. (friends, family & work colleagues) uses WhatsApp: so that’s what I use too. It doesn’t matter how good iMessage is: it’s useless to me (an iPhone owner) as a communication tool if I can’t use it to communicate.
That totally is not a fair comparison. You buy different phone brands, you still get access to the same set of universal features (roads) like phone calls, texting and the added bonus of an open App Store with potentially infinite optional cross-platform solutions.
iMessage is and was never advertised as a cross-platform solution. It‘s more of a private, gated road you need access to (just like WhatsApp is, you need to register with their service: only difference is, WhatsApp lets the vast majority of devices in, whereas Apple only wants theirs to be let in).
I’d say that the point of a communication tool is to communicate. A communication tool that can’t communicate with everyone is not very useful. In the same way that the phone app wouldn’t be much good if it could only call other iPhones: the iMessages app is crippled by not being able to send IMs to Android phones. Even if I want to send a message to someone with an iPhone, 90% of the time I still use WhatsApp, because that’s the app that is the most convenient means of messaging everyone.
iMessage would be much more useful if it could swap instant messages with Android phones.
It‘s not meant to be sent to other platforms. It‘s a platform exclusive communication service. It‘s Apple‘s choice to not offer apps for their service on other platforms, it might be a stupid decision on their end but that still does not allow anyone to reverse engineer and hijack their service (+ charge for that ontop).
I don‘t see anyone complaining about the various gaming platforms / consoles locking their chat / voice chat mechanisms to their ecosystem. Blackberry had their platform locked down tightly too and only steered ship once they realized they‘re losing the battle.
Anyone who defends what Beeper does is part of the platform. Yes, Apple is stupid for not doing anything about bringing iMessage cross-platform, no that doesn‘t give anyone the right to abuse the IP of another company. Just wait for RCS and pray for the best.
So we agree that Apple should make iMessage cross platform 🙌🏻🙂
I haven’t commented on the Beeper side of things, but I also agree that companies have a right to protect their IP 👍🏻🙂
Sure. Been very vocal about Apple supporting cross-platform communication on this very board for years. Always got ridiculed when I tried to start a conversation about Apple eventually supporting RCS.
I think this is the best case: Apple adding support for RCS, not making iMessage cross-platform. There is way more benefit in Apple adding RCS, cause it opens up potential interoperability between way more services (like WhatsApp and co. potentially adding RCS one day too).
iMessage on Android is the wrong way to go about this.
Just add RCS compatibility that’s encrypted. They shouldn’t have to pay for android users to have access to iMessage.
I think it’s too late for that. I doubt they would gain much traction if they do.
There have been lots of articles about how iMessage is irrelevant in other countries. Especially in Asia.
I have just smidge under 579,000 — yes, you read that right, five hundred seventy-nine thousand — iMessages taking 82GB of storage. I keep every message, and the majority of my most frequent contacts are part of the Apple ecosystem as well.
iMessage was E3EE since its inception. No one even cared about encrypted messaging back in 2011. People started to jump on the E2EE bandwagon few years later. 2016 for FB Messenger and WhatsApp. RCS was not encrypted until 2021, and only because it's Google's way of implementing the GSMA's RCS standard.
Carriers support RCS, but do not encrypt messages. GSMA did not add encryption to its standard, therefore RCS is not encrypted by default. Encrypted RCS is Google adding an encryption layer to RCS through its Messages app.
If Beeper is so adamant about protecting users with encryption, why are they not also fighting for those flip phone users to get encrypted RCS? An Android phone texting a regular flip phone will either use SMS/MMS or unencrypted RCS.
So honestly, it is still a blue bubble thing.
Carriers support RCS, but do not encrypt messages. GSMA did not add encryption to its standard, therefore RCS is not encrypted by default. Encrypted RCS is Google adding an encryption layer to RCS through its Messages app.
If Beeper is so adamant about protecting users with encryption, why are they not also fighting for those flip phone users to get encrypted RCS? An Android phone texting a regular flip phone will either use SMS/MMS or unencrypted RCS.
So honestly, it is still a blue bubble thing.
Imessage is pretty much irrelevant in Latin America and asia which makes up a sizeable part of the worlds population. I am originally from mex, I don't know of any mexican's with iphones that use imessage. Whatsapp is the app of choice.
The person misspoke when they said outside of the us, but a country with 1/5th of the population of mexico alone doesn't do much to change it.
Initially when using a new phone number I received some spam FaceTime calls, increasing that to a another platform just make one leary of more FaceTime spam.
Apple should acquire Beeper Inc. and keep it as a wholly-owned subsidiary. They should also make a web-based version of iMessage for use with your Apple ID, like they do Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Photos, Drive, Notes, Reminders, Pages, Numbers, Keynote and Find My.
Last edited:
The Beeper Dev response to whats below was "
"I don't want iMessage. I want to be able to securely communicate with iPhone friends through their default chat app."
In other words make app to break into other messaging methods for his own purposes, not to ask permission at all.
source
"I don't want iMessage. I want to be able to securely communicate with iPhone friends through their default chat app."
In other words make app to break into other messaging methods for his own purposes, not to ask permission at all.
source
Last edited:
So, create a way to break into someone else’s services/server for your own purposes without any intention of seeking permission. Isn’t that dangerously close to piracy?
just when you thought "blue bubbles" was controversial, you upped the stakes and mention gun control
well done.
the rest of the world cannot understand how weekly shootings are just accepted. in the name of "freedom".
exactly how much money does the gun lobby have invested in the political system?
Weekly? More like daily.