WhatsApp was there before Apple. There was even Symbian versions of it. The reason it got so popular in other counties is the extortionate pricing of SMSes. Wh

WhatsApp was there before Apple. There was even Symbian versions of it. The reason it got so popular in other counties is the extortionate pricing of SMSes. WhatsApp used (and still uses) very little data and with the lowest level data tariff you would still get more messaging quota. Moreover it costed nothing when WiFi on phones became a thing. Then sending pictures for free became a thing too. They were also a smaller company and it didn't bother people to pay a small amount for all of the benefits they got.