Apple Explains Why iMessage Hasn't Expanded to Android
In a wide-ranging commentary piece about WWDC 2016, tech journalist Walt Mossberg included an interesting bit about why Apple has not expanded iMessage to competing software platforms like Android.
When I asked a senior Apple executive why iMessage wasn’t being expanded to other platforms, he gave two answers. First, he said, Apple considers its own user base of 1 billion active devices to provide a large enough data set for any possible AI learning the company is working on. And, second, having a superior messaging platform that only worked on Apple devices would help sales of those devices — the company’s classic (and successful) rationale for years.
Last week, a questionable rumor surfaced claiming that Apple planned to announce iMessage for Android at WWDC 2016, but the keynote passed without any mention. Apple's executive team evidently views iMessage as a big enough selling point to keep it exclusive to Apple devices like the iPhone and Mac for now, despite Android having over 1.4 billion active users worldwide as of September 2015.
Popular Stories
Google today said that Android has set a new record for mobile web performance, making it the fastest mobile platform for web browsing.
The newest Android devices have set new records on web performance benchmarks like Speedometer and LoadLine, which Google attributes to "deep vertical integration across hardware, the Android OS, and the Chrome engine."
Speedometer simulates real-world...
Apple tested end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages exchanged between iPhone and Android users in the iOS 26.4 beta, but Apple made it clear the functionality was not going to launch in the iOS 26.4 update.
E2EE for RCS was removed before iOS 26.4 was released, but the feature is back in the iOS 26.5 beta as Apple continues testing it.
In the Messages section of the Settings app,...
Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 Pro is very likely to come in a new deep red color, claims a Chinese leaker, because the color is already being prototyped by Android phone makers.
In February, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple is testing a deep red finish for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. Rumors of purple and brown finishes have also circulated, but Gurman believes those are ...