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Apple probably won’t make iMessage available outside of its own devices because it’s a major lock-in and network effect for iOS. Some people switch to iPhones s
by snazz 6y ago
Apple probably won’t make iMessage available outside of its own devices because it’s a major lock-in and network effect for iOS. Some people switch to iPhones simply because their friends won’t include them in an iMessage group chat or something similar. MMS is a truly terrible messaging experience by comparison.
- rorykoehler 6y agoI don’t know anyone who uses iMessage. I’m writing this on an iPhone and I don’t even know what iMessage is.
- maxdo 6y agothe blue bubble is iMessage the green one that always slowly receive messages and no typing indicator, images, videos , gifs, payments thats your rare android friend :)
- rorykoehler 6y agoI just checked. It seems I deleted it from my phone. A chat app that is tied to an OS? Why not just use Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp etc
- mikestew 6y agoWhy not just use Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp etc Because I already have a perfectly serviceable message app that comes with the phone by default. Do the three in your list interoperate with each other, is that why you're suggesting them?
- rorykoehler 6y agoWhich app is the interoperable app that comes with the iphone?
- vlozko 6y agoBecause it’s a lowest common denominator, of sorts. Also, none of those apps are able to handle SMS on iOS. Also, why not use iMessage vs all the other ones you mentioned? Different strokes for different folks.
- pimeys 6y agoGoogle has 73.18% market share in Europe, so it's quite rare that all your friends are using iPhone. https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/europe/ https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/europe/
- rorykoehler 6y agoThey have even more market share in the USA
- joshuamorton 6y agoAccording to the same site, Android has <50% market share in the US, with iOS having >50.
- pimeys 6y agoWhat's interesting here is that it's only the US where Apple has the dominance. Everywhere else in the world it's mostly Android in the mobile phones. Edit: What I mean with this comment is that HN has lots of readers outside of the US. Here using only iMessage would be a bit weird, and for that reason everybody uses either Signal or WhatsApp.
- rorykoehler 6y agoHuh, i replaced europe with usa in the url and it gave me different figures than when you click the united states link. Still 50% isn't enough to warrant using iMessage. Especially the way we use chat apps these days.
- rorykoehler 6y ago
- reaperducer 6y agoI don’t know anyone who uses iMessage. I don't know anyone who still uses SMS. What's your point?
- rorykoehler 6y agoWhat’s yours?
- snazz 6y agoI’ll guess that their point was that it depends largely based on your social circle.
- GekkePrutser 6y agoiMessage is huge in the US. Here in Europe it's all about WhatsApp.
- rorykoehler 6y agoHow can it be huge if it’s iOS only?
- snazz 6y agoBecause a much higher share of the US smartphone market is iOS (close to half overall and over 80% of teens and young adults).
- MayeulC 6y agoWell, I hear Apple is huge in the US. https://deviceatlas.com/blog/android-v-ios-market-share#us https://deviceatlas.com/blog/android-v-ios-market-share#us
- GekkePrutser 6y agoAs the OP, it's like the others say, Apple is bigger in the US. But also, you can still message Android users because it seamlessly switches over to SMS. This of course makes it usually more expensive for the Android user to respond. But due to the level of iMessage use they don't have an alternatives. And most plans are now quite generous with SMS bundles anyway.