• Scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    22
    ·
    1 year ago

    Okay I’m out of the loop, why is iMessage on Android such a big deal? I know that images get compressed but it sounds like Google and Apple are finally working together to draw up a spec there. Besides that it’s… A color difference?

    • lotanis@discuss.tchncs.de
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      21
      ·
      1 year ago

      There’s a massive cultural thing in the US about the iPhone being the preferred phone and if you don’t have one it must be because you’re too poor to afford one. Obviously this is a result of marketing and isn’t universal but it is a surprisingly widely held view.

      Given that, showing up in a group chat as a lone blue bubble marks you out as the inferior group member (in some people’s eyes). It doesn’t matter so much 1:1 but if there are 10 people the odd one out stands out.

        • hamburglar26@wilbo.tech
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          1 year ago

          This. I was the last member of my family on Android and made the fam text chain a mess to the point there was a separate one with everyone but me and I would have to look at it on my wife’s phone.

          I finally got an iPhone partly because of this. Also because the mini is just a much better size than anything that was available android wise that I liked.

      • janguv@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        1 year ago

        The real issue here is that people in the US are tied to using SMS for real-time chat groups when so many better (and private, and well known) alternatives exist. Thankfully, in Europe, nobody so far as I know ever really uses SMS anymore – whether for single or group chats.

      • snowe@programming.dev
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        Not really a thing. Google is trying to make it seem like there is, but I’ve never met a single person that has ever cared.

    • verdare [he/him]@beehaw.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      12
      ·
      1 year ago

      Google and Apple are finally working together

      I think this is the primary reason. Apple only announced working on RCS support very recently. Once that’s out, I don’t really see a place in the market for this.

      And it isn’t just compressed images. MMS doesn’t support reactions, replies, typing indicators, or read receipts because it’s ancient. A proper, standardized replacement has been long overdue.

      Granted, I’ve heard that RCS is currently heavily reliant on Google’s own servers, so it could be argued as to how “open” this really is.

        • verdare [he/him]@beehaw.org
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          1 year ago

          I think the currently available apps not being free software is less important than the protocol being open, which is good. It allows for the possibility of FOSS clients in the future. My bigger concern at the moment is if most/all of the actual backend infrastructure is controlled by a single stakeholder.

    • evident5051@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      The messages app also supports forwarding text messages to other devices.

      We can even ignore the other features of iMessage. This adds a layer of convenience to those who use both iOS and Android.

        • evident5051@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          Yes, but it works better for those whose main SIMs are on iPhones. I personally use BlueBubbles at the moment.