Skip to main content

Imagining a world where iMessage came to Android

Had iMessage come to Android in 2013, Google would have less competition in the U.S., but the biggest loser would have been Facebook.

In 2013, Apple's senior VP of software and services Eddy Cue wanted to bring the iMessage service to Android, but the idea was nixed by other Apple executives, including Apple's SVO of software engineering Craig Federighi. Ever since, there have been a lot of people who wish it could have happened.

Of course, this would have had an impact. Many people think iMessage is the best messaging app available, and with the iPhone holding a large portion of the market in the U.S. and the U.K., sales numbers might look a little different. But neither Google nor Apple is the winner here. Instead, both lost the battle to Facebook because Apple didn't make iMessage cross-platform.

Apple's future would have changed

There are people who won't use any messaging app except iMessage. In fact, those people sometimes refuse to talk to someone who isn't sending a blue bubble in the app because they are using a different platform.

It's a good service. It's not the end-all-be-all Apple likes to claim it is and it has more than a handful of technical faults, but it's the default app on the iPhone, and it's pretty good. That's a formula for success, and I'll bet that most iPhone users in the U.S. use iMessage as their chat and texting app. And if you're Apple, this is more than enough reason to keep it away from Google.

Apple uses iMessage as a lock-in to the iOS ecosystem. It works because iMessage is good.

Apple uses iMessage as a lock-in to keep users from switching away from iOS. Or, as Federighi puts it, "[it] would simply serve to remove an obstacle to iPhone families giving their kids Android phones." And he's exactly right. There are plenty of ways to chat from the same account on every device in the world, but there is only one way to chat over iMessage: buy Apple products.

A look at global market share doesn't tell the story, but a look at U.S. market share (and to a smaller extent the U.K and Japan) does. Three of the richest countries in the world have about half of the smartphone users holding an iPhone, which is something that Apple places an enormous value on.

If there were one less thing to keep users in the Apple ecosystem, these numbers could be a little different. You can buy an Android phone with a better screen than an iPhone. You can buy an Android phone with a bigger battery than the iPhone. You can buy an Android phone with a better camera than the iPhone. In fact, outside of the chip inside, the iPhone's hardware is far from the best available.

Apple would have lost significant market share had it made iMessage for Android.

On the software side, iOS is extremely polished, and Apple does a lot of work to keep things simple to use. A lot of folks value these things and wouldn't let hardware influence any decision to switch. There's also a perception that iOS is better than Android, and while that might have been true years ago, it isn't really the case today.

One thing a lot of people want to overlook is how Google could help Apple to improve iMessage. For some reason, in 2021, if you try to reply to a group iMessage chat using SMS, everything breaks, and the entire thing defaults to an SMS conversation. There is no real technical reason for this, and I have a feeling Apple likes it being this way. If not, Google has some of the best network engineers on hand and would happily investigate the issue if asked.

All things considered, Apple would have lost market share to Android had it allowed iMessage to come over. How much is up for debate because the iPhone does offer other benefits, but having a good messaging app means a lot. Especially when you keep telling the world that it's better than everything else and you have a user base that agrees.

Android would look different, too

Messaging on Android isn't as cut and dried as it is on iOS. There is an overwhelming selection of different services and apps, and even the carriers are in on the action. Google is unable to fix it. It will never be able to fix it because once you give people plenty of choices trying to corral them away from what they like isn't going to happen. People find what they like and will keep using it.

Android users would have rushed to install iMessage in 2013.

But what if iMessage was an option for Android faithful back in 2013? Would users have decided they wanted in on it and stuck to it? Yes.

In 2021 iMessage isn't nearly as special as it was in 2013. Back then, SMS was the standard in the states, and that meant your carrier got to decide what type of media you could send, how big a file could be and took no measures to keep your messages safe. That's changed a little but if you look back and remember, messaging was bad in 2013. Really bad.

What made iMessage great in 2013 was that it was a gateway for SMS that could send messages as data. That means photos and videos didn't look like garbage, and your carrier didn't get to see anything not sent over its SMS channel. Compare that to the alternatives, and you can see how iMessage could be very appealing. So appealing that Google tried to emulate it when it announced in 2013 that Hangouts would act as an SMS app in Android KitKat.

Where Google failed was the user interface, which was a lot busier than iMessage. This alone would have influenced many a decision to install and use iMessage, as evidenced by Hangouts being depreciated in favor of multiple failed attempts at a universal messenger. While some people like iMessage because Apple makes it, others just like using it without changing any settings or fiddling inside any menus.

Google can't fix messaging on Android. Taking away choice would backfire.

Google finally got things together and drove the change to RCS. Now you can use the Messages app on your Android phone, and as long as the other party has an RCS-capable app installed, there is no line between SMS and chat. Google might not have tried to bring this change if half the customer base was using iMessage. That's important because RCS is a far better service than SMS, and we all should be happy to watch the latter die off.

What about market share, though? Would removing "an obstacle to iPhone families giving their kids Android phones" actually have happened? Absolutely.

Most parents would happily buy one of the best Android phones under $200 for the kids and have less headache to deal with when kids do what they do best and break it. Those parents could also use iMessage to talk to their kids, who could use iMessage to talk to their iPhone-using friends. Android market share, especially in the under-18 group, would have grown significantly. And as the kids grow up and buy their own phones, there is a much better chance they will keep using Android because of similar lock-in on the Google side of things.

I'll go as far as saying I think U.S. market share would look a lot like global market share had iMessage come to Android. Android getting iMessage is a nightmare situation that Apple was wise to avoid. Mostly.

The real winner is Facebook

Yes, you read that right — Facebook. While we can speculate how much market share Apple would have lost or how Google could have changed its attempts at building an iMessage-like service to Android but we know one thing: without iMessage on Android WhatsApp took over the world.

According to Statista, in 2013, WhatsApp had 200 million active users. In 2020 the service topped 2 billion users. Do you know what happened during that time? Smartphones ended up in almost everyone's hands.

WhatsApp grew with Android. Without an iMessage of its own, users — especially outside of the U.S. — needed a good way to chat that didn't cost 5-cents per message after the first 500 every month. As more and more users got an Android in their hands, they installed WhatsApp to talk with friends and family, or even to order food or to call a taxi. WhatsApp seemingly does everything.

Outside of the U.S., everyone uses WhatsApp.

WhatsApp also has matured into a great app with features that rival those of iMessage and anything Google has to offer. This potential is what made Facebook buy the service. Outside of a few blunders from Zuckerberg and company, WhatsApp is filled with really happy users. That's a lock-in in and of itself.

And by now it's too late to change anything. As long as WhatsApp stays around (and it's not going anywhere anytime soon), it will continue to draw more and more users because of two things: it's a good service, and it works in every country on every smartphone. When Android reaches the 3 billion user mark, WhatsApp will soon follow.


There are plenty of great services you can use to chat with friends and family that aren't tied to any one particular brand of smartphone. But iMessage is still what you hear about most, even though you're probably using WhatsApp.

Messaging will continue to evolve, and iMessage will keep considerable mindshare even though it doesn't have the market share to back it up. But things would have looked very different had Eddy Cue been allowed to move forward and release the service to Android, and by extension, Windows.



Source: androidcentral

Popular posts from this blog

The hidden cost of food delivery

Noah Lichtenstein Contributor Share on Twitter Noah Lichtenstein is the founder and managing partner of Crossover , a diversified private technology fund backed by institutional investors, technology execs and professional athletes and entertainers. More posts by this contributor What Studying Students Teaches Us About Great Apps I’ll admit it: When it comes to food, I’m lazy. There are dozens of great dining options within a few blocks of my home, yet I still end up ordering food through delivery apps four or five times per week. With the growing coronavirus pandemic closing restaurants and consumers self-isolating, it is likely we will see a spike in food delivery much like the 20% jump China reported during the peak of its crisis. With the food delivery sector rocketing toward a projected $365 billion by the end of the decade, I’m clearly not the only one turning to delivery apps even before the pandemic hit. Thanks to technology (and VC funding) we can get a ri

Cyber Monday Canada: Last-minute deals for everyone on your list

Best Cyber Monday Canada deals: Smart Home Audio Phones, Tablets & Accessories Wearables Laptops & PC Components Amazon products Gaming Televisions Cameras Lifestyle & Kitchen Toys & Kids Cyber Monday Canada is here, and retailers are rolling out the red carpet for customers who want to shop for everything from tech to kitchenware to games and everything in between. Unlike years past, Cyber Monday Canada deals look a bit different than normal. Instead of retailers trying to pack their stores with as many shoppers as possible, we're seeing tons of online deals that you can take advantage of from the comfort of your home. We've rounded up our favorites below, so feel free to browse through the best of what Canada Cyber Monday has to offer! This list is being updated with new Cyber Monday deals all the time, so check back often. Spotlight deals It's a Switch Nintendo Switch Fortnite Edition bundle $399.95 at Amazon It's a Switch.

Slack’s new integration deal with AWS could also be about tweaking Microsoft

Slack and Amazon announced a big integration late yesterday afternoon. As part of the deal, Slack will use Amazon Chime for its call feature, while reiterating its commitment to use AWS as its preferred cloud provider to run its infrastructure. At the same time, AWS has agreed to use Slack for internal communications. Make no mistake, this is a big deal as the SaaS communications tool increases its ties with AWS, but this agreement could also be about slighting Microsoft and its rival Teams product by making a deal with a cloud rival. In the past Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield has had choice words for Microsoft saying the Redmond technology giant sees his company as an “existential threat.” Whether that’s true or not — Teams is but one piece of a huge technology company — it’s impossible not to look at the deal in this context. Aligning more deeply with AWS sends a message to Microsoft, whose Azure infrastructure services compete with AWS. Butterfield didn’t say that of course

iPhone 13 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro Buyer's Guide: 50+ Differences Compared

The iPhone 15 Pro brings over 50 new features and improvements to Apple's high-end smartphones compared to the iPhone 13 Pro, which was released two years prior. This buyer's guide breaks down every major difference you should be aware of between the two generations and helps you to decide whether it's worth upgrading. The ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro debuted in 2021, introducing a brighter display with ProMotion technology for refresh rates up to 120Hz, the A15 Bionic chip, a telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, Macro photography and photographic styles, Cinematic mode for recording videos with shallow depth of field, ProRes video recording, a 1TB storage option, and five hours of additional battery life. The ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro was discontinued upon the announcement of the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022, but it is still possible to get hold of it second-hand. Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two iPhone models is best for you and serves as a way to c