Nothing Chat\u2019s promise and the formula for a seamless iMessage integration remains the same as Sunbird\u2019s, but the two still seem to be two different apps:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Connect Nothing Chats to an Apple ID (which Android user can create even without an Apple device)<\/li>\n
- Send and receive blue bubble (!) iMessage texts to\/from other iPhone<\/a> users<\/li>\n
- Create and take part in iMessage group chats from your Android phone<\/span><\/li>\n
- Send and receive full-res media such as photos, videos, GIFs, etc.<\/li>\n
- See typing indicators (when someone is typing) from your Android device, and more (below)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n\n\n![\"Sorry,](\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Sorry-America-iMessage-coming-to-Android-wont-solve-the-real.jpg\")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
\nTo be clear, apart from promising to bring iMessage to Android, unlike Nothing Chats (which will likely be exclusive to Nothing phones), Sunbird also promises to give you the option to merge all messages from your different messaging apps into one app (Sunbird), thus making texting more seamless as a whole, which sounds useful. Despite that, make no mistake – Sunbird\u2019s leading marketing message (no pun intended) is the same as Nothing Chats\u2019 – \u201ciMessage on Android\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
But perhaps the most important part of the premise you might like to be familiar with (before my deep-er, more personal dive), is that Nothing and Sunbird seem to be painting themselves as the heroes coming to save the day, punching a sizeable hole into Apple\u2019s sturdy \u201cBlue bubble – Green bubble\u201d wall that\u2019s kept Android users away for ages.<\/p>\nNow that Apple has promised to bring RCS support to the iPhone via an update (coming some time in 2024), the plot becomes even more interesting\u2026 Was RCS ever the cause of the problem amongst Blue iPhone and Green Android users in the US? Or is there another problem that needs to be addressed? Or perhaps the time has come, and soon iMessage will be cross-platform just like WhatsApp<\/a>?<\/p>\n
Really\u2026 Who is the bad guy here?!<\/span><\/p>\n
Adding iMessage to Android and Nothing Phone 2 behind Apple\u2019s back and Apple\u2019s adoption of RCS won\u2019t solve the \u201cBlue vs Green bubble problem\u201d in the US<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n![\"Let\u2019s](\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1700491581_883_Sorry-America-iMessage-coming-to-Android-wont-solve-the-real.jpg\")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>\nLet\u2019s get it straight – RCS is coming to iPhone but iMessage isn\u2019t coming to Android.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
I rarely come into a story with such a personal tone, but this is a peculiar topic that (I believe) has little to do with tech and smartphones. Yet I think I should talk about it, because\u2026 it has a lot to do with tech and smartphones.<\/span><\/p>\n
We\u2019ve heard the stories\u2026 People in the US (particularly teenagers but not only) tend to feel \u201cpressured\u201d into buying\/switching to iPhone to make sure they fit in – reportedly, nearly 90% of US teens are iPhone users.<\/p>\n
And Apple makes it very clear – when typing from iPhone to iPhone, your messages show up as a blue bubble. When typing from Android to iPhone, you are a \u201cgreen bubble\u201d that gets the \u201cgreen bubble treatment\u201d, which can manifest itself in bullying (if you\u2019re a teen in school), or an adult who\u2019s being ignored\/excluded from chats. Apparently, no Android user in the US is safe from the Green bubble curse.<\/p>\n
And call me insane, but as someone who doesn\u2019t live in the US, I honestly struggle to believe iMessage running\/not running on Android can\/will change the fact that people\u2019s values, ideas of acceptable behavior, communication, and real connections and relationships are fundamentally broken. Whether you\u2019re American or Martian.<\/p>\n
\nPorting iMessage onto Android would be treating the symptoms instead of the cause of the core problem when messaging from iPhone to Android. Which is that you shouldn\u2019t forget you\u2019re messaging and (supposedly) trying to connect with people. Not phones\/apps.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
To put it plainly, and I can\u2019t believe I need to be saying this, but if someone doesn\u2019t want to communicate with you over the color of a virtual bubble, we need to be having an utterly different conversation. Perhaps one about society – how we\u2019re incapable of keeping up with the increasing power of the computers in our pocket, and cyber discrimination. Rather than iPhones\/Androids.<\/p>\n
And just so I don\u2019t look like the cigarette-smoking European who\u2019s \u201ctoo chill to get it\u201d, rest assured – I think I do\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n
When I was growing up in Eastern Europe, where smartphones weren\u2019t exactly ubiquitous at the time, the closest thing to the Bubble discrimination (let\u2019s call it what it is), were brands. Are you the kid wearing Nikes? You\u2019re cool. Are you wearing unbranded shoes? Not so cool. Do you even know what we\u2019re talking about when we say \u201cConverse\u201d? You don\u2019t?! Don\u2019t be a loser!<\/p>\n
And as a teenager, situations like these can seem like the end of the world. But whether you\u2019re a privileged teenager or an ignorant adult, choosing to behave this way over an emblem, or the color of a virtual box seems like a \u201cyou problem\u201d to me. <\/p>\n
Perhaps we should let these people take the time to realize how ridiculous the bubble thing is, and self-correct. Notice, I don\u2019t say \u201ccancel them\u201d, because that\u2019s something else we do very easily nowadays, which is ironic\u2026 You\u2019d think woke people would be a bit more woke in situations that actually require it, no?<\/p>\n
\nThe message (no pun intended) I\u2019m trying to convey is that\u2026 Maybe the resolution of the Bubble discrimination is in educating your kids, and self-governing yourself to do better as a friend, a person, and simply a member of society. Whether that\u2019s online or in person. Well, especially online, since this is \u201cPhoneArena\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Apple vs Google vs Nothing in the iMessage – RCS feud: No one truly cares about you and how the Green bubbles affect your life – phone-makers want your attention<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
\n\n![\"Nothing\u2019s](\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1700491581_396_Sorry-America-iMessage-coming-to-Android-wont-solve-the-real.jpg\")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>\nNothing\u2019s new homepage is dedicated to the new Nothing Chats app – \u201cBlue bubbles on Phone 2\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Of course, there\u2019s another perspective to the Blue bubble \/ Green bubble topic, which some people (rightfully) cling onto – isn\u2019t this all Apple\u2019s fault? Is this just another consequence of Cupertino\u2019s famous Walled garden?<\/p>\nAnd while I certainly can\u2019t say Apple isn\u2019t responsible, I do want to make it clear that Google<\/a> and Nothing aren\u2019t the savior angels that just want you to have RCS or iMessage on your Android phone<\/span>, because it\u2019ll make you feel better either. All that phone-makres want is your attention and your presence on their platform(s).<\/p>\n
Can you really blame them? I suppose you can say they are greedy, but that\u2019s what happens when you\u2019re running unfathomably large businesses. In fact, wanting to be on top is part of the reason you\u2019re there (or close) in the first place. Am I wrong?<\/p>\n
What you can do is hold them accountable; protest with your wallet; and try to educate yourself and control your reactions to the methods they use to attract you.<\/p>\n
\nIf the goal of bringing iMessage to Android \u201cbehind Apple\u2019s back\u201d is to help disguise Android users as iPhone users, this can do more harm than good. However, the adoption of RCS is all around a positive thing for both iPhone and Android users.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Is the iMessage Bubble war Apple\u2019s fault, and will the iPhone\u2019s adoption of RCS solve the most ridiculous problem Android users keep running into when messaging an iPhone?<\/h3>\n
\n\n![\"Nothing](\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1700491581_533_Sorry-America-iMessage-coming-to-Android-wont-solve-the-real.jpg\")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>\nNothing Phone 2 running Nothing’s iMessage clone (left) and the iPhone 15 Pro<\/a> (right).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
To make one thing very clear, the fact that Apple caved in and decided to adopt Google\u2019s RCS texting standard (in 2024) is a true game-changer. But only to a point.<\/p>\nTo put it in very simple terms, RCS is pretty much the more modern version of SMS\/MMS 90s kids are very well familiar with. Compared to texting today, SMS and MMS were a pain in the rear. For example, MMS allows media sharing but ruins the quality of images\/videos, and more importantly, SMS\/MMS rely on cell connection to work.<\/p>\n
This makes texting between Android and iPhone feel ancient. So, yes, even today, Apple is basically sending Android users back in the stone age by not switching to RCS. But, of course, when it comes to iPhone to iPhone texting, none of this really matters thanks to\u2026 iMessage. The forbidden (for Android) Apple (pun intended).<\/p>\n
Was iMessage part of Apple\u2019s evil plan to turn iPhone into the \u201c90% market share monopoly\u201d it is amongst US teenagers?<\/h4>\n
\n\n![\"Sorry,](\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1700491581_88_Sorry-America-iMessage-coming-to-Android-wont-solve-the-real.jpg\")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nTo be clear, I strongly believe Apple\u2019s initial idea behind iMessage most certainly wasn\u2019t to \u201clock iPhone users in”; keep everyone else out; build a monopolistic platform, etc. Of course, I can\u2019t vouch for that but you know\u2026 Just an educated guess; maybe an opinion; perhaps I\u2019m delusional – who knows\u2026However, it just so happens that 2008-2012 saw a big boom of the launch of messaging apps like WhatsApp and Viber, and Apple wasn\u2019t going to be the modern smartphone pioneer to sit back and watch from the sidelines.<\/p>\nThe result of Apple\u2019s action plan was iMessage (debuted in 2012), which like virtually any other piece of Apple software\/hardware is very much iPhone\/iPad\/Mac exclusive, because\u2026 IDK. Tim Cook is a control freak, or it really helps Apple products work better?!<\/p>\n
Regardless, here\u2019s the (silly) obvious question\u2026 What’s exactly shocking here? It\u2019s what Apple does. AirDrop doesn\u2019t run on Android (I mean, I don’t even think it can); Final Cut doesn\u2019t run on Windows, and (thank God) Siri doesn\u2019t run on my Pixel 8 Pro, because Google Assistant is a million times better. But iMessage isn\u2019t even close to being a million times better than say… WhatsApp.<\/p>\n
That being said, I do believe that seeing the competitive advantage iMessage brings to the American Apple table (still smaller than president Putin\u2019s), Apple surely realized it has a special sauce on its hands. And as the most valuable company in the world, you can bet Apple will try not to share this sauce with anyone (read: Android) at all cost; for as long as possible.<\/p>\n
\nBut again – iMessage aside, the Bubble war is a people problem first, and everything else second. And while the arrival of RCS to iPhone will make Android – iPhone texting much, much better, I wouldn\u2019t hold my breath for Blue bubbles on Android. Don\u2019t ask why\u2026 I just have a feeling.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
RCS on iPhone is a huge win for everyone but iMessage on Nothing Phone 2 isn\u2019t helping Android users too much in the Bubble war – it helps Carl Pei\u2019s Nothing make a marketing splash<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
\n\n![\"Video](\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1700491581_103_Sorry-America-iMessage-coming-to-Android-wont-solve-the-real.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRCS on iPhone will be incredible to see but let\u2019s go back to Carl Pei, and Nothing Chats for a moment\u2026<\/span><\/div>\nSpeaking of motives, what about Nothing\u2019s move to create an official (but not approved by Apple) iMessage port for the Nothing Phone 2? Is this Carl Pei<\/span> trying to help Android users climb over the Apple garden? Or is it something else?<\/p>\n
Call me crazy but I say Carl Pei<\/span> & Co wants exactly what Google, and Samsung<\/a> want – to be more competitive, and pull Apple users in. In fact, Carl Pei<\/span>, said it himself in the explanatory video<\/a> Nothing released on the topic (attached above). <\/p>\n
Yes, Apple\u2019s \u201clocked\u201d services might hurt competitiveness (they most certainly do), but what is Nothing\u2019s CEO trying to do? Get the same competitive advantage over OTHER Android phones and attract Apple users in the process.<\/p>\n
\nAnd just like I don\u2019t think you can blame Apple for holding onto iMessage, I don\u2019t think you can blame him for using every trick in the book to push Nothing forward. Remember, Carl Pei is a bit of a marketing prodigy, which I really do respect – sometimes you have to separate the artist from the art to see the bigger picture. NO?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
But here are a few more giveaways that iMessage on the Nothing Phone 2 likely is one of Carl Pei\u2019s marketing campaigns:<\/p>\n- \n
- By far the most viewed video on Nothing\u2019s YouTube channel remains CEO Carl Pei\u2019s review of the iPhone 14 Pro. While reviewing your competitors’ products in public might seem strange, this is Pei\u2019s clever way of marketing the Nothing Phone for iPhone users. Still, he seems to maintain a friendly, fair assessment of Apple\u2019s flagship phone. But don\u2019t let this fool you – as every competing CEO, he would do just about anything to see you make the switch from iPhone. And now he\u2019s doing it with Nothing Chats.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- Nothing just launched in the US, where the whole iMessage\/Bubble thing is key to winning marketshare, especially in the teenage demographic, which is more important than you realize – the teens with iPhones today will probably be iPhone users forever, so if you can \u201csteal\u201d them now, you better do it soon\u2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- Nothing just launched in the US, where the whole iMessage\/Bubble thing is key to winning marketshare, especially in the teenage demographic, which is more important than you realize – the teens with iPhones today will probably be iPhone users forever, so if you can \u201csteal\u201d them now, you better do it soon\u2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Create and take part in iMessage group chats from your Android phone<\/span><\/li>\n
![\"EU](\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1700491581_769_Sorry-America-iMessage-coming-to-Android-wont-solve-the-real.jpg\")