iMessage Vs. Nothing Chats: How Does The New App Bring Blue Bubbles To Android Phones?

London-based consumer technology company Nothing has released a new app that brings iMessage to Android phones. Nothing Chats bridges the ever-growing gap between messaging services on the two popular operating systems. It is powered by Sunbird, an email platform. Nothing Chats will be available to users of a particular phone by the company starting November 17, 2023, in select regions. Here’s everything you need to know about Nothing Chats.

A Brief History of iMessage Vs. Google Messages

For some time now, Alphabet-owned Google has been mocking Apple for not adopting Rich Communication Service (RCS). This relatively new messaging protocol allows Android users to enjoy a better multimedia experience compared to SMS and MMS.

Phone maker Pixel says if the Cupertino-based tech giant integrates RCS into its messaging app, millions of users around the world can send and receive high-quality messages with emojis, images and videos supported. Although Apple didn’t think twice about it, Google, along with other EU telecom operators, wrote a letter to regulators asking Apple to open up iMessage.

What is Nothing Chats?

According to the official community post, Nothin Chats is a “one-of-a-kind app developed in partnership with Sunbird, which allows you to message other iMessage users” from the Android-based Nothing Phone. The Carl Pei-led company believes that messaging services divide phone users and the app will unite them by providing a seamless experience across different operating systems. Nothing Chats also supports RCS on compatible devices.

How does Nothing Chats work?

To use iMessage on Android, users must have a phone (2). With the smartphone, users need to download the Nothing Chats app from the Google Play Store. The next step is to create an Apple ID (assuming that Android users generally don’t have an account on Apple servers), log in to the app, and that’s it. Nothing Chats will allow Phone (2) users to chat with iPhone users in the iconic blue bubbles. Although the app is still in development, it will provide basic functionality from the start.

iMessage Vs. Nothing Chats: is it lacking in features?

Those who have tested the application confirm that it works. However, there are some drawbacks. For example, some iMessage features aren’t here yet, such as editing messages, reactions, and read receipts. Nothing Chats works for both personal and group chats. However, if a user in a group doesn’t have iMessage, the app won’t work. Still, users can send and receive high-quality images and see when the other user is typing.

Will Apple not respond to anything in the discussions?

Since Nothing is launching the app on Friday, there is speculation that the company will give Apple some time to react to it, either through appreciation (which is very unlikely since the company likes people to stick to it to its devices), or through legal action. However, popular YouTuber Marques Brownlee says in his video, quoting Nothing’s CEO, that the retaliation might not present Apple in the best light. Therefore, the company might do nothing at all.

Is Nothing Chats secure?

Additionally, the YouTuber also raises a security issue in his recent video, explaining that Nothing Chats signs users’ Apple ID on a Mac Mini server farm, which does all the message routing behind the scenes. This can be dangerous simply because users have to provide their access to their Apple ID to someone else. However, according to a report from The Verge, which includes a statement from Nothing’s US PR manager, Sunbird stores users’ iCloud credentials in an encrypted database. Additionally, it converts credentials into tokens, thereby strengthening the security of the service.

Sunbird Security Protocols

According to the official Nothing website. Nothing Chats is built on the Sunbird platform; All chat messages are end-to-end encrypted. Additionally, Sunbird’s architecture provides a system to transmit a message from one user to another without storing it at any time. Finally, the company deletes users’ account details after two weeks of inactivity. Nothing Safe attempts to address all the security and privacy requirements that users might be concerned about, but ultimately Nothing Chats’ success depends on its transparency and, simultaneously, trustworthiness.

Currently, Nothing Chats is only available in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, or European Union. However, the company will implement it in more regions in the future.

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