3 ms·

Because iMessage is a big reason people do not switch from iPhone to an Android phone in the US, so if Apple gets more market share in Europe and everyone start

Because iMessage is a big reason people do not switch from iPhone to an Android phone in the US, so if Apple gets more market share in Europe and everyone start using iMessage, it would be reasonable to think this would start affecting competition as people become "locked in" due to the messaging of one over another platform. But, like I said, it's not a big of a deal in Europe where most people use whatsapp or facebook messenger over native messaging. At least that's what Apple has claimed. Probably because iMessage is not fully functional on android and so people just can't communicate with others effectively. But in the USA, everyone has iPhones, so everyone uses iMessage. The same messaging platforms exist in the USA as in Europe; but it doesn't matter, it's all about where your friends/family are. If everyone is on iMessage then you gotta be on iMessage and if the only way of getting iMessage (effectively) is having an iPhone then you just have to have an iPhone. This is now entering personal experience territory but I know plenty of Americans who have android phones and are thinking of getting an iPhone because of iMessage, particularly now that the iPhones are going to come with usb-c (thanks, Europe). On the other hand, I know people who have iPhones and want to switch to android but are held back due to everyone they know using iMessage. I mean, it's possible to survive without it, sure. But it's a significant boulder on the road of migration. So that's why I think it should be open up.

robertlagrant 3y ago
Thanks that's helpful context. But if you want to switch from iPhone (thanks, US) to Android, what's the actual barrier? Do you lose all the photos/videos sent to you on iMessage?
- dunham 3y ago
  I think the barrier would be loss of access to friends and family. Especially group chats. From inertia, conversations would continue on iMessage without the person who switched. I would like to see iMessage on other platforms, but I don't think I'd want the protocol itself opened up. That would lead to much more spam (I saw this starting to ramp up on google chat before they cut off XMPP).
  - pseg134 3y ago
    Maybe as a work around one of the EU commissioners can bug your family and friends to include you in their group chats. Access to group chats have recently been added to the list of inalienable rights.
    - robertlagrant 3y ago
      This is my instinct too. If the only thing keeping the family together is regulations, then what does that mean? Wouldn't they just all switch to WhatsApp or Signal?
    - enragedcacti 3y ago
      Famously the EU has never before addressed issues that aren't violations of inalienable rights
- enragedcacti 3y ago
  I think for most people its more about the network effects. Once you switch any iMessage groups you are in get degraded to MMS which means you'll probably just get dropped from the group so that the iPhone users can keep using read receipts/typing indicators, send higher quality media, and get lower latency/higher reliability chat. Even for one-on-one conversations you and the other participant immediately lose a lot of QoL features that you took for granted. Obviously there are crossplatform apps that offer those features but now the friction of switching to Android includes trying to convince every iPhone user you interact with or will interact with to download another app and set up an account or both of you have to deal with a pretty miserable chat experience. Its definitely not the end of the world but if your goal is to promote competition then lowering switching friction has to be a big part of that.
- jerojero 3y ago
  iMessage support for android is limited. The most evident is that if you're running iMessage on Android your messages will show on an iPhone as a green bubble (as opposed to a blue one if you were using an iPhone). This might not seem like a great a deal, but it is, specially in young people... there is a lot of cultural baggage against "green bubble". You might get bullied in school for it. Apple basically "brands you" to set you apart. There's also limited reactions (when you "heart" or "thumbs up" a message) and some types of messages are just not supported in the android version of the app. So, in reality, apple kind of goes out of its way to make the app just not fully compatible in android precisely because they want people to feel left out if they're not using an iPhone. I think it's important to think of this issue from the perspective of a first-time phone buyer. Which at this point might be a 10-12yo, if all their friends are texting on iMessage and you're the only one that's different... well, I think a lot of us know that's not a feeling you necessarily will enjoy.

robertlagrant 3y ago

Thanks that's helpful context. But if you want to switch from iPhone (thanks, US) to Android, what's the actual barrier? Do you lose all the photos/videos sent to you on iMessage?

dunham 3y ago
I think the barrier would be loss of access to friends and family. Especially group chats. From inertia, conversations would continue on iMessage without the person who switched. I would like to see iMessage on other platforms, but I don't think I'd want the protocol itself opened up. That would lead to much more spam (I saw this starting to ramp up on google chat before they cut off XMPP).
- pseg134 3y ago
  Maybe as a work around one of the EU commissioners can bug your family and friends to include you in their group chats. Access to group chats have recently been added to the list of inalienable rights.
  - robertlagrant 3y ago
    This is my instinct too. If the only thing keeping the family together is regulations, then what does that mean? Wouldn't they just all switch to WhatsApp or Signal?
  - enragedcacti 3y ago
    Famously the EU has never before addressed issues that aren't violations of inalienable rights
enragedcacti 3y ago
I think for most people its more about the network effects. Once you switch any iMessage groups you are in get degraded to MMS which means you'll probably just get dropped from the group so that the iPhone users can keep using read receipts/typing indicators, send higher quality media, and get lower latency/higher reliability chat. Even for one-on-one conversations you and the other participant immediately lose a lot of QoL features that you took for granted. Obviously there are crossplatform apps that offer those features but now the friction of switching to Android includes trying to convince every iPhone user you interact with or will interact with to download another app and set up an account or both of you have to deal with a pretty miserable chat experience. Its definitely not the end of the world but if your goal is to promote competition then lowering switching friction has to be a big part of that.
jerojero 3y ago
iMessage support for android is limited. The most evident is that if you're running iMessage on Android your messages will show on an iPhone as a green bubble (as opposed to a blue one if you were using an iPhone). This might not seem like a great a deal, but it is, specially in young people... there is a lot of cultural baggage against "green bubble". You might get bullied in school for it. Apple basically "brands you" to set you apart. There's also limited reactions (when you "heart" or "thumbs up" a message) and some types of messages are just not supported in the android version of the app. So, in reality, apple kind of goes out of its way to make the app just not fully compatible in android precisely because they want people to feel left out if they're not using an iPhone. I think it's important to think of this issue from the perspective of a first-time phone buyer. Which at this point might be a 10-12yo, if all their friends are texting on iMessage and you're the only one that's different... well, I think a lot of us know that's not a feeling you necessarily will enjoy.