Tim Cook revealed the real reason Apple won’t fix green bubbles

https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/8/23343336/apple-tim-cook-imessage-blue-green-bubbles-texting-rcs

by Alupis • 4 years ago

20 48 4 years ago

wdb2• 4 years ago

I only use the Messages app to get MFA codes for different applications. Don't they use something like Whatsapp in the US? I think it mostly a non-issue in Europe

Wowfunhappy9• 4 years ago

No. iPhones are dominant enough in the US that most people communicate over iMessage, or SMS if you're the one guy stuck on Android.

This is the reason I haven't switched to Android—so it has worked on me at least.

imd• 4 years ago

iOS and Android are neck and neck in the US. There was a report about iOS passing Android just days ago, so they have similar market share. I can readily believe that at certain workplaces, almost everyone has an iPhone, but this isn't true generally.

pornel• 4 years ago

This is a recurring type of comment. Some people use primarily WhatsApp or FB messenger. Other people's entire social network is on iMessage. Neither talk to users of Signal. And there are also separate groups of people who think everyone is on Telegram or WeChat.

Clearly there are network effects, and which app wins is varies between regions and groups.

clpm4j• 4 years ago

[I'm an American] I've heard that the reason WhatsApp became so popular in Europe is because European cellphone services used to (still do?) charge for texts per message whereas in the US it quickly became commonplace for all service providers to include "unlimited texting" plans. From my perspective, I never felt the need to download any additional app for messaging - the default messaging app was always the go-to way to text people before smart phones, and then when the iPhone came out that just continued with iMessage as the new default messaging app.

wdb2• 4 years ago

If you text messaging is free. Does that include MMS? I am not sure why it a blue or green bubble is a big problem? You would still be able to send messages or media content?

The only difference I can see is the lack of end-to-end encryption and reactions (e.g. like a message)?

kingrazor• 4 years ago

I'm from the US. While there are certainly people that use it, I don't personally know anyone that uses Whatsapp, Signal, Telegram, etc... as their primary method of text communication. Nearly everyone I personally know uses iMessage or SMS, with a smaller subset using Facebook messenger.

mkrishnan3• 4 years ago

Green bubble doesn't need any fixing as such.

Google released 13 + messaging products in last 10 years. Apple provides much better compatibility to google Apps than google itself provides to its own apps lol :)

prirun2• 4 years ago

The only thing that needs fixing for me (iPhone) is to use black text instead of white on the lime green bubbles. White is too hard to read. That's probably fine with Apple too though.

yabqk• 4 years ago

Go to accessibility settings and enable increased contrast.

mkrishnan3• 4 years ago

Users to Google: Can you provide better messaging experience?

Google: let me think

Google to Apple: Can you cripple your iMessaging experience so that these people would stop blaming me?

Wowfunhappy9• 4 years ago

How would it cripple the iMessage experience to fall back to RCS, instead of ancient SMS, when texting a non-iPhone?

mkrishnan3• 4 years ago

Google version of RCS would cripple iMessage. standard RCS is not good enough to be used in practice. Basically google wants apple to use its own version of iMessage (conveniently calls it as RCS and make it looks like it is standard)

joshstrange9• 4 years ago

The lack of real journalism in this area is astounding. To pretend that RCS is ready to go, works perfectly, is a "standard", and that it's just Apple dragging it's feet is a joke.

RCS is not working perfectly for phone that ostensibly support it today (at least that's what I'm hearing from my android friends). RCS is not really a standard as much as it's whatever Google wants (It's like Chrome is for the web but for messaging) and Google has the worst track record possible when it comes to messaging. Also RCS involves the carriers, I cannot think of a worse party (other than google) to involve. We wrested control from carriers years ago and this just hands them control back, it's absolutely absurd. The "standard" itself doesn't support E2E, no, that's a Google addon. It's a garbage fire and just because it's slightly better than SMS people act like it's the second coming, spare me, it's barely table stakes for a competent chat service (something google wouldn't know anything about).

It's a shit "standard", it doesn't even work currently, and it's just a thinly veiled way for Google to control messaging. RCS is stupid, just use any other chat service out there if you don't want to use SMS, it's really not difficult, only the US seems to have this issue (surprise).

Wowfunhappy9• 4 years ago

Also RCS involves the carriers, I cannot think of a worse party (other than google) to involve.

They're a better party than Apple or Google because they support multiple hardware and software ecosystems. I'd prefer some sort of nonprofit, but I'll take what I can get.

RCS is not working perfectly for phones that ostensibly support it today (at least that's what I'm hearing from my android friends).

Well, fwiw I've heard the opposite.

intothemild2• 4 years ago

I have an Android and RCS works perfectly... This is someone coming from iPhones

PeterStuer• 4 years ago

Anyone have a GDPR compliant link for this article?

wbsss4412• 4 years ago

Most of the world doesn’t even use iMessage, it’s all WhatsApp/messenger/WeChat. This controversy is such a nothing burger in comparison to App Store policies.

There’s plenty of cross platform chat clients out there and new ones sprouting up all the time. I have an iPhone and I only communicate with a handful of people on iMessage, it’s not even that great of a chat app and it’s hardly the moat that people make it out to be.

turtlebits• 4 years ago

IMO this is the same as the USB-C/Lightning controversy.

Apple came up with (an arguably) better solution than SMS w/ iMessage. Now there is a newer "standard" (USB-C yes, RCS not quite) and everyone wants to force Apple to change.

Tim Cook revealed the real reason Apple won’t fix green bubbles

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