4 ms·

This green text thing only happens in the US. Nobody really uses iMessage elsewhere.

echelon 2y ago
It shouldn't be allowed in the US. Lina Khan was going to put a stop to it, but tragically that didn't reach its culmination.
- briandear 2y ago
  Why? Does the color affect functionality or are we going to pass laws based on feelings?
  - dwaltrip 2y ago
    Hate to break it to ya, everything humans do is fundamentally affected by feelings.
  - echelon 2y ago
    > are we going to pass laws based on feelings? This is very concrete fuckery. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/21/apple-doj-antitrust-lawsuit-00148189 https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/21/apple-doj-antitrust... https://www.npr.org/2024/03/28/1241473453/why-green-text-bubble-stigma-is-part-of-the-anti-trust-case-against-apple https://www.npr.org/2024/03/28/1241473453/why-green-text-bub... https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/21/doj-claims-green-bubbles-are-an-issue-in-iphone-monopoly-suit/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/21/doj-claims-green-bubbles-a...
    - simplify 2y ago
      The concrete fuckery: (Politico) Lower video quality (NPR) Feeling unwelcome (TechCrunch) Peer pressure
  - TheDong 2y ago
    It does. If you try to send a photo in an inferior green bubble chat, you get an error. Face time calls don’t work. The text is harder to read for me because it’s low contrast and can’t be configured. It’s significantly less secure, and a government agent required I use blue bubble imessage to submit an important document for security, and wouldn’t accept it by sms or email since both were not secure enough
    - astrange 2y ago
      That should work now because of RCS. Email is secure enough though. People make up security rules in their heads all the time, doesn't mean it's true.
      - flutas 2y ago
        Tbh Apple's RCS implementation is so buggy it almost has me on the "they added bugs to keep people off of it" conspiracy train. As in, during a conversation my phone would send RCS and the iPhone would reply with SMS only. This has happened multiple times with multiple people, and some where RCS won't let us communicate - the messages just disappear into the void, but only when sent from the iPhone. https://i.imgur.com/FrMfECA.png https://i.imgur.com/FrMfECA.png
        Aloisius 2y ago
        This happens in Android to Android too, especially with Samsung Messages. A lot of carrier's RCS implementations are buggy.
      - whimsicalism 2y ago
        apple has intentionally handicapped rcs and it is still ongoing
    - Spivak 2y ago
      What are you talking about? Photos have worked in MSS group chats for 10+ years now. They send as shit quality but they work. And now mixed group chats are RCS which has all the important features of iMessage.
- tick_tock_tick 2y ago
  > Lina Khan was going to put a stop to it, but tragically that didn't reach its culmination. Lets not kid ourselves she was going to keep focusing on minimum impact, likely to fail cases with good optics, and inventing more obtuse interpretations of anti-trust law while continuing to ignore any real monopolies she could.
simonask 2y ago
Apple/iOS has market dominance in several places outside the US, including Japan, Canada, Scandinavia, and several other European nations. It has a slight majority in the UK. Android has worldwide dominance overall, but people tend to communicate locally. Source: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/iphone-market-share-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/iphone-ma...
- laken 2y ago
  Japan and most of Europe do not really use iMessage (Japan uses LINE, Europe generally uses WhatsApp), so I'm not sure exactly how iPhone market dominance is relevant to the previous commenter's point.
- piltdownman 2y ago
  Nobody uses iMessage in Europe. It's an american phenomenon like beepers, caused by different market conditions. In Europe the kids use Snapchat. Adults use WhatsApp for most calls, messages and rich media, and maybe Signal/Telegram for select groups or grey activities. The elderly use Facebook messenger and WhatsApp.
- rchaud 2y ago
  iMessage is nowhere near as popular outside the US, mostly because consumers do not expect to default themselves into some kind of single-manufacturer proprietary "ecosystem" that rivals Sony in how anti-consumer it is. Thanks to the EU, you can just charge newer model iPhones with any USB-C cable now instead of having to pad Apple's profits further with proprietary dongles and cables that offer no additional value.
  - dhosek 2y ago
    Your depiction of iMessage (which is essentially SMS+encrypted communication with enhancements to people who also have Apple devices) seems disingenuous, as does your explanation of why people use alternatives outside the US. Outside the HN bubble, most people don‘t care about things like proprietary vs open (and if they did, why the heck would they opt for propietary alternatives).

It shouldn't be allowed in the US. Lina Khan was going to put a stop to it, but tragically that didn't reach its culmination.

briandear 2y ago
Why? Does the color affect functionality or are we going to pass laws based on feelings?
- dwaltrip 2y ago
  Hate to break it to ya, everything humans do is fundamentally affected by feelings.
- echelon 2y ago
  > are we going to pass laws based on feelings? This is very concrete fuckery. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/21/apple-doj-antitrust-lawsuit-00148189 https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/21/apple-doj-antitrust... https://www.npr.org/2024/03/28/1241473453/why-green-text-bubble-stigma-is-part-of-the-anti-trust-case-against-apple https://www.npr.org/2024/03/28/1241473453/why-green-text-bub... https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/21/doj-claims-green-bubbles-are-an-issue-in-iphone-monopoly-suit/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/21/doj-claims-green-bubbles-a...
  - simplify 2y ago
    The concrete fuckery: (Politico) Lower video quality (NPR) Feeling unwelcome (TechCrunch) Peer pressure
- TheDong 2y ago
  It does. If you try to send a photo in an inferior green bubble chat, you get an error. Face time calls don’t work. The text is harder to read for me because it’s low contrast and can’t be configured. It’s significantly less secure, and a government agent required I use blue bubble imessage to submit an important document for security, and wouldn’t accept it by sms or email since both were not secure enough
  - astrange 2y ago
    That should work now because of RCS. Email is secure enough though. People make up security rules in their heads all the time, doesn't mean it's true.
    - flutas 2y ago
      Tbh Apple's RCS implementation is so buggy it almost has me on the "they added bugs to keep people off of it" conspiracy train. As in, during a conversation my phone would send RCS and the iPhone would reply with SMS only. This has happened multiple times with multiple people, and some where RCS won't let us communicate - the messages just disappear into the void, but only when sent from the iPhone. https://i.imgur.com/FrMfECA.png https://i.imgur.com/FrMfECA.png
      - Aloisius 2y ago
        This happens in Android to Android too, especially with Samsung Messages. A lot of carrier's RCS implementations are buggy.
    - whimsicalism 2y ago
      apple has intentionally handicapped rcs and it is still ongoing
  - Spivak 2y ago
    What are you talking about? Photos have worked in MSS group chats for 10+ years now. They send as shit quality but they work. And now mixed group chats are RCS which has all the important features of iMessage.
tick_tock_tick 2y ago
> Lina Khan was going to put a stop to it, but tragically that didn't reach its culmination. Lets not kid ourselves she was going to keep focusing on minimum impact, likely to fail cases with good optics, and inventing more obtuse interpretations of anti-trust law while continuing to ignore any real monopolies she could.

simonask 2y ago

Apple/iOS has market dominance in several places outside the US, including Japan, Canada, Scandinavia, and several other European nations. It has a slight majority in the UK. Android has worldwide dominance overall, but people tend to communicate locally. Source: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/iphone-market-share-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/iphone-ma...

laken 2y ago
Japan and most of Europe do not really use iMessage (Japan uses LINE, Europe generally uses WhatsApp), so I'm not sure exactly how iPhone market dominance is relevant to the previous commenter's point.
piltdownman 2y ago
Nobody uses iMessage in Europe. It's an american phenomenon like beepers, caused by different market conditions. In Europe the kids use Snapchat. Adults use WhatsApp for most calls, messages and rich media, and maybe Signal/Telegram for select groups or grey activities. The elderly use Facebook messenger and WhatsApp.
rchaud 2y ago
iMessage is nowhere near as popular outside the US, mostly because consumers do not expect to default themselves into some kind of single-manufacturer proprietary "ecosystem" that rivals Sony in how anti-consumer it is. Thanks to the EU, you can just charge newer model iPhones with any USB-C cable now instead of having to pad Apple's profits further with proprietary dongles and cables that offer no additional value.
- dhosek 2y ago
  Your depiction of iMessage (which is essentially SMS+encrypted communication with enhancements to people who also have Apple devices) seems disingenuous, as does your explanation of why people use alternatives outside the US. Outside the HN bubble, most people don‘t care about things like proprietary vs open (and if they did, why the heck would they opt for propietary alternatives).