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Why would I download another app? iMessage is baked in. Heck I can send reactions to my friends messages with their android phones now. That’s as much as I care

by wincy 6y ago

Why would I download another app? iMessage is baked in. Heck I can send reactions to my friends messages with their android phones now. That’s as much as I care about as an adult.

crazygringo 6y ago
Right, I'm that way too. But the rest of the world basically chose to download another app instead. So that's what I wonder about -- why did the US not bother, but the rest of the world did? What was different about the US?
- ishaanbahal 6y ago
  > Right, I'm that way too. But the rest of the world basically chose to download another app instead. > So that's what I wonder about -- why did the US not bother, but the rest of the world did? What was different about the US? Not sure about the rest of the world, but India specifically, has more whatsapp users because we have more Android users. iPhone is considered more of a luxury here, even now and with millions using android devices, ios users do end up downloading a common app that everyone has. Also helped by the fact that there's no standardisation of message apps in android, though Google messages is trying RCS, more than half the phones don't ship with Google messages, even the close to stock ones like OnePlus have their own implementation, so a third party became standard for even android to android communication.
  - eertami 6y ago
    The UK has a lot of iPhones but WhatsApp is still the default messaging app.
    - arrrg 6y ago
      Still substantially fewer as compared to the US. I think you have to switch your assumptions around. The cross platform solution of a communicator should be considered more likely to win out in a competitive duopoly.
- bestnameever 6y ago
  I think you'll find that sms costs were more expensive at the time users in certain countries started switching to whatsapp compared to the usa
- arrrg 6y ago
  That’s not a mystery. iPhone market share is highest in the US. You can’t use iMessage if most other people you are interacting with are using WhatsApp. There is a real need for better messaging than SMS and MMS. In particular easy sharing of photos and videos is the crucial and central feature. Easy group messaging is probably another important aspect. So both WhatsApp and iMessage provide these valuable features, however the best messaging service is of no use if you can’t communicate with the people you want to communicate with. Because of the Android and iOS duopoly I would typically expect the cross platform solution to win out for such a use case, even if it is a bit more inconvenient. What iMessage has going for it is that it has a relatively transparent fallback mode – I think that made it even possible for it to compete. However, the US is still the clear aberration here, not the rest of the world. It seems to just have worked out there in a way where the critical mass of iOS was there to make this happen and last (at least for a bit). Still, I can’t see the big crime Apple supposedly committed here. Their approach of building on top of SMS is completely valid and makes tons of sense.
- AniseAbyss 6y ago
  Yeah there are obviously iPhones in Europe but they all have WhatsApp on them. iMessage defaults to SMS on Android- and SMS is legacy technology in Europe. Thats what stopped iMessage gaining traction.

by wincy 6y ago

Why would I download another app? iMessage is baked in. Heck I can send reactions to my friends messages with their android phones now. That’s as much as I care about as an adult.

crazygringo 6y ago

Right, I'm that way too. But the rest of the world basically chose to download another app instead. So that's what I wonder about -- why did the US not bother, but the rest of the world did? What was different about the US?

ishaanbahal 6y ago
> Right, I'm that way too. But the rest of the world basically chose to download another app instead. > So that's what I wonder about -- why did the US not bother, but the rest of the world did? What was different about the US? Not sure about the rest of the world, but India specifically, has more whatsapp users because we have more Android users. iPhone is considered more of a luxury here, even now and with millions using android devices, ios users do end up downloading a common app that everyone has. Also helped by the fact that there's no standardisation of message apps in android, though Google messages is trying RCS, more than half the phones don't ship with Google messages, even the close to stock ones like OnePlus have their own implementation, so a third party became standard for even android to android communication.
- eertami 6y ago
  The UK has a lot of iPhones but WhatsApp is still the default messaging app.
  - arrrg 6y ago
    Still substantially fewer as compared to the US. I think you have to switch your assumptions around. The cross platform solution of a communicator should be considered more likely to win out in a competitive duopoly.
bestnameever 6y ago
I think you'll find that sms costs were more expensive at the time users in certain countries started switching to whatsapp compared to the usa
arrrg 6y ago
That’s not a mystery. iPhone market share is highest in the US. You can’t use iMessage if most other people you are interacting with are using WhatsApp. There is a real need for better messaging than SMS and MMS. In particular easy sharing of photos and videos is the crucial and central feature. Easy group messaging is probably another important aspect. So both WhatsApp and iMessage provide these valuable features, however the best messaging service is of no use if you can’t communicate with the people you want to communicate with. Because of the Android and iOS duopoly I would typically expect the cross platform solution to win out for such a use case, even if it is a bit more inconvenient. What iMessage has going for it is that it has a relatively transparent fallback mode – I think that made it even possible for it to compete. However, the US is still the clear aberration here, not the rest of the world. It seems to just have worked out there in a way where the critical mass of iOS was there to make this happen and last (at least for a bit). Still, I can’t see the big crime Apple supposedly committed here. Their approach of building on top of SMS is completely valid and makes tons of sense.
AniseAbyss 6y ago
Yeah there are obviously iPhones in Europe but they all have WhatsApp on them. iMessage defaults to SMS on Android- and SMS is legacy technology in Europe. Thats what stopped iMessage gaining traction.