6 ms·

If anything that's a bolder move considering everyone uses Whatsapp there and barely anyone uses iMessage

by hbn 3y ago

iainmerrick 3y ago
Both are very popular in the UK.
- joshuaissac 3y ago
  WhatsApp is used by 78% of the users in the UK, and iMessage is used by 25%. https://www.statista.com/forecasts/997945/most-used-messenger-by-brand-in-the-uk https://www.statista.com/forecasts/997945/most-used-messenge... (non-free link)
  - thejohnconway 3y ago
    25% of the entire population is a pretty popular application! Not “hardly anyone”. Also, I’d like to know the volume of messages shared, I have WhatsApp, but wouldn’t miss it it it disappeared. iMessage disappearing would be very inconvenient.
    - Reason077 3y ago
      I'm surprised it's even 25% in the UK, and I wonder how that's measured. Maybe the 25% includes things like "opening the iMessage app to read SMS messages sent by two-factor authentication services" etc.
      - thejohnconway 3y ago
        I’m not surprised, SMSing people is still common, and sliding from that to iMessage is totally frictionless for iPhone users. With iOS market share being around 50%, I’m surprised (skeptical even!) that it’s not closer to 50%.
  - vxNsr 3y ago
    But who is that 25%? iPhone users have money. I’m sure there is some significant overlap between iMessage and WhatsApp users (I know I and everyone I know use(s) both). But if you threaten politicians with losing their blue bubbles they’re gonna fall in line.
    - XajniN 3y ago
      No one in Europe cares about the blue bubbles. I prefer iMessage over the other messengers, but I still haven’t met anyone who cares. A lot of people don’t even know why the bubbles are sometimes green.
      - scarface_74 3y ago
        Yet, the EU have their panties in a knot about having it be interoperable…
    - joshuaissac 3y ago
      > But if you threaten politicians with losing their blue bubbles they’re gonna fall in line. This is not a thing outside the United States, and I doubt that most British politicians are even aware of 'blue bubbles'. For example, the recent controversy regarding the release of Covid-related government communications was centred on WhatsApp, with no reference to other platforms like iMessage. https://news.sky.com/story/politicians-are-drawn-to-whatsapp-and-it-threatens-us-ever-knowing-the-whole-truth-12894737 https://news.sky.com/story/politicians-are-drawn-to-whatsapp...
wintermutestwin 3y ago
I've noticed that too and it is super annoying having family in the UK that will only communicate via Whatsapp. Is this because cell providers outside the US charge for SMS? Even the ones who have iPhones end up using it because it is too much of a pain to use separate messaging apps.
- rejectfinite 3y ago
  The opposite is more annoying... Whatsapp works on PC, Mac, Android and iOS iMessage only works on Apple devices.
- dtech 3y ago
  SMS is cheap now but wasn't universally when Whatsapp gained critical mass. Nowadays it's mostly about convenience and features compared to SMS, and iPhone has a much smaller marker share in Europe so iMessage isn't a thing.
  - meling 3y ago
    I beg to differ. iMessage is definitely quite common in Europe as well.
    - dtech 3y ago
      iPhone has like a 33% market share so I wouldn't call it common if you can't reach 2 out of 3 people on it at least. In contrast, in many European countries Whatsapp has 90%+ penetration [1]. Even where it's relatively unused it's more common than iMessage. [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1311229/whatsapp-usage-messaging-app-users-by-country/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1311229/whatsapp-usage-m...
- lotsofpulp 3y ago
  It is mostly because international SMS and MMS is not free. People in the UK travel more to other countries, and communicate more with people in other countries. Not to mention MMS is vastly inferior to WhatsApp and iMessage for sharing media and other information.

If anything that's a bolder move considering everyone uses Whatsapp there and barely anyone uses iMessage

by hbn 3y ago

If anything that's a bolder move considering everyone uses Whatsapp there and barely anyone uses iMessage

iainmerrick 3y ago

Both are very popular in the UK.

joshuaissac 3y ago
WhatsApp is used by 78% of the users in the UK, and iMessage is used by 25%. https://www.statista.com/forecasts/997945/most-used-messenger-by-brand-in-the-uk https://www.statista.com/forecasts/997945/most-used-messenge... (non-free link)
- thejohnconway 3y ago
  25% of the entire population is a pretty popular application! Not “hardly anyone”. Also, I’d like to know the volume of messages shared, I have WhatsApp, but wouldn’t miss it it it disappeared. iMessage disappearing would be very inconvenient.
  - Reason077 3y ago
    I'm surprised it's even 25% in the UK, and I wonder how that's measured. Maybe the 25% includes things like "opening the iMessage app to read SMS messages sent by two-factor authentication services" etc.
    - thejohnconway 3y ago
      I’m not surprised, SMSing people is still common, and sliding from that to iMessage is totally frictionless for iPhone users. With iOS market share being around 50%, I’m surprised (skeptical even!) that it’s not closer to 50%.
- vxNsr 3y ago
  But who is that 25%? iPhone users have money. I’m sure there is some significant overlap between iMessage and WhatsApp users (I know I and everyone I know use(s) both). But if you threaten politicians with losing their blue bubbles they’re gonna fall in line.
  - XajniN 3y ago
    No one in Europe cares about the blue bubbles. I prefer iMessage over the other messengers, but I still haven’t met anyone who cares. A lot of people don’t even know why the bubbles are sometimes green.
    - scarface_74 3y ago
      Yet, the EU have their panties in a knot about having it be interoperable…
  - joshuaissac 3y ago
    > But if you threaten politicians with losing their blue bubbles they’re gonna fall in line. This is not a thing outside the United States, and I doubt that most British politicians are even aware of 'blue bubbles'. For example, the recent controversy regarding the release of Covid-related government communications was centred on WhatsApp, with no reference to other platforms like iMessage. https://news.sky.com/story/politicians-are-drawn-to-whatsapp-and-it-threatens-us-ever-knowing-the-whole-truth-12894737 https://news.sky.com/story/politicians-are-drawn-to-whatsapp...

wintermutestwin 3y ago

I've noticed that too and it is super annoying having family in the UK that will only communicate via Whatsapp. Is this because cell providers outside the US charge for SMS? Even the ones who have iPhones end up using it because it is too much of a pain to use separate messaging apps.

rejectfinite 3y ago
The opposite is more annoying... Whatsapp works on PC, Mac, Android and iOS iMessage only works on Apple devices.
dtech 3y ago
SMS is cheap now but wasn't universally when Whatsapp gained critical mass. Nowadays it's mostly about convenience and features compared to SMS, and iPhone has a much smaller marker share in Europe so iMessage isn't a thing.
- meling 3y ago
  I beg to differ. iMessage is definitely quite common in Europe as well.
  - dtech 3y ago
    iPhone has like a 33% market share so I wouldn't call it common if you can't reach 2 out of 3 people on it at least. In contrast, in many European countries Whatsapp has 90%+ penetration [1]. Even where it's relatively unused it's more common than iMessage. [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1311229/whatsapp-usage-messaging-app-users-by-country/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1311229/whatsapp-usage-m...
lotsofpulp 3y ago
It is mostly because international SMS and MMS is not free. People in the UK travel more to other countries, and communicate more with people in other countries. Not to mention MMS is vastly inferior to WhatsApp and iMessage for sharing media and other information.