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iMessage was released on iOS 5 with the release of the iPhone 4S. Before then, all messages had a green background. Somehow sticking with the default of more th

iMessage was released on iOS 5 with the release of the iPhone 4S. Before then, all messages had a green background. Somehow sticking with the default of more than 10+ years is intentional maleficence by Apple?

blinkingled 4y ago
No but not updating the default for 10 years in a way that mostly affects only Android users seems like borderline malfeasance to me.
- dymk 4y ago
  It's not a "default", it's an indicator of how the message was sent.
  - blinkingled 4y ago
    So every sent message looks white on bright green or just the ones sent over SMS/MMS (I.e. to Android users)?
    - dymk 4y ago
      Messages sent via SMS/MMS are green, messages sent via iMessage are blue. If you send a message via SMS/MMS to an iPhone user, it's green. There is no detection if the user on the other end is an Android user.
      - tantalor 4y ago
        So it's a default.
        deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
        rootusrootus 4y ago
        Blue is the default, because iOS always tries iMessage first in preference to SMS.
        mattkrause 4y ago
        There's a setting for that too.
        tomjakubowski 4y ago
        No.
        dymk 4y ago
        Are you saying the default phone that users go out and buy, is an iPhone?
        tantalor 4y ago
        No, green is the default.
015a 4y ago
In a product development org, refusing to prioritize something is identical to deprioritizing it. @Time0 -> Priority1=X, Priority2=Y @Time1 -> Priority1=X, Priority2=Z, Priority3=Y Across this timeframe, Y's priority was lowered from P2 to P3, because the org intentionally decided to make Z a higher priority. One could argue that improving this experience was never in their priority list; but as long as product leaders in the org knew about it; its the same thing. Letting something linger in the backlog, and intentionally deciding to never add it to the backlog in the first place, are identical. I don't know about "maleficence", but intentional: Yes. Cognizant inaction conveys intentionality.
- mlyle 4y ago
  I think you're misreading the above comment. He's pointing out that Apple considered green originally the best background color for texting, and then added their own protocol with a blue background. So it's not like they deliberately relegated SMS to green because they were certain blue was better; if they believed blue was superior, they'd have used it from the beginning.
  - 015a 4y ago
    Yes, and then Time Happened, and every other part of iOS was updated; including, by the way, THE GREEN BUBBLES, to make them less readable, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills and no one else remembers that they used to be a different shade of green, with black text, which has significantly more contrast [1]. Regardless, they could improve it at any time, yet its been like this for... a decade now? Cognizant Inaction Is Intention. It doesn't matter why it is how it is; they can make it whateverthehell they want, they run the code, they run the org, they got the keys to production, so: fix it! The original color may not have been malicious, but it WAS DELIBERATE. Every design decision at Apple is deliberate; to assert otherwise is to be revisionist. Cognizant Inaction Is Intention. Its color was deliberately chosen originally; its color was deliberately changed; their inaction in fixing the accessibility issues that change created is Deliberate, because Cognizant Inaction is Intention. [1] https://d2bs8hqp6qvsw6.cloudfront.net/article/images/750x750/dimg/m_img_29352.jpg https://d2bs8hqp6qvsw6.cloudfront.net/article/images/750x750...
gjs278 4y ago
Rebelgecko 4y ago
It's not the same shade of green, IIRC it's been changed 2 or 3 times, each iteration having lower contrast with the text color.
- Sunspark 4y ago
  In addition to that, iMessage in iOS 5 and 6 did NOT use white for text. Black letters were used instead.
- GloriousKoji 4y ago
  It used to be black text on a green background with a bevel to make the text bubble look like it has depth. I'm probably in the minority but I still don't like the modern high contrast flat material design of everything.
upbeat_general 4y ago
As an iPhone user, it’s very clear that it is done intentionally. The shade of green hurts to read.

blinkingled 4y ago

No but not updating the default for 10 years in a way that mostly affects only Android users seems like borderline malfeasance to me.

dymk 4y ago
It's not a "default", it's an indicator of how the message was sent.
- blinkingled 4y ago
  So every sent message looks white on bright green or just the ones sent over SMS/MMS (I.e. to Android users)?
  - dymk 4y ago
    Messages sent via SMS/MMS are green, messages sent via iMessage are blue. If you send a message via SMS/MMS to an iPhone user, it's green. There is no detection if the user on the other end is an Android user.
    - tantalor 4y ago
      So it's a default.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
      - rootusrootus 4y ago
        Blue is the default, because iOS always tries iMessage first in preference to SMS.
        mattkrause 4y ago
        There's a setting for that too.
      - tomjakubowski 4y ago
        No.
      - dymk 4y ago
        Are you saying the default phone that users go out and buy, is an iPhone?
        tantalor 4y ago
        No, green is the default.

015a 4y ago

In a product development org, refusing to prioritize something is identical to deprioritizing it. @Time0 -> Priority1=X, Priority2=Y @Time1 -> Priority1=X, Priority2=Z, Priority3=Y Across this timeframe, Y's priority was lowered from P2 to P3, because the org intentionally decided to make Z a higher priority. One could argue that improving this experience was never in their priority list; but as long as product leaders in the org knew about it; its the same thing. Letting something linger in the backlog, and intentionally deciding to never add it to the backlog in the first place, are identical. I don't know about "maleficence", but intentional: Yes. Cognizant inaction conveys intentionality.

mlyle 4y ago
I think you're misreading the above comment. He's pointing out that Apple considered green originally the best background color for texting, and then added their own protocol with a blue background. So it's not like they deliberately relegated SMS to green because they were certain blue was better; if they believed blue was superior, they'd have used it from the beginning.
- 015a 4y ago
  Yes, and then Time Happened, and every other part of iOS was updated; including, by the way, THE GREEN BUBBLES, to make them less readable, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills and no one else remembers that they used to be a different shade of green, with black text, which has significantly more contrast [1]. Regardless, they could improve it at any time, yet its been like this for... a decade now? Cognizant Inaction Is Intention. It doesn't matter why it is how it is; they can make it whateverthehell they want, they run the code, they run the org, they got the keys to production, so: fix it! The original color may not have been malicious, but it WAS DELIBERATE. Every design decision at Apple is deliberate; to assert otherwise is to be revisionist. Cognizant Inaction Is Intention. Its color was deliberately chosen originally; its color was deliberately changed; their inaction in fixing the accessibility issues that change created is Deliberate, because Cognizant Inaction is Intention. [1] https://d2bs8hqp6qvsw6.cloudfront.net/article/images/750x750/dimg/m_img_29352.jpg https://d2bs8hqp6qvsw6.cloudfront.net/article/images/750x750...

gjs278 4y ago

Rebelgecko 4y ago

It's not the same shade of green, IIRC it's been changed 2 or 3 times, each iteration having lower contrast with the text color.

Sunspark 4y ago
In addition to that, iMessage in iOS 5 and 6 did NOT use white for text. Black letters were used instead.
GloriousKoji 4y ago
It used to be black text on a green background with a bevel to make the text bubble look like it has depth. I'm probably in the minority but I still don't like the modern high contrast flat material design of everything.

upbeat_general 4y ago

As an iPhone user, it’s very clear that it is done intentionally. The shade of green hurts to read.