Arr, me hearties! Apple be shiverin' the timbers o' the newest Android iMessage app, yet Beeper be swearin' to sail forward!
2023-12-11
Arr, me hearties! Apple be thwartin' the likes o' Beeper Mini, a scallywag who dared to grant Android scurvy dogs the holy grail o' iMessage. Ye can't be plunderin' their treasure, mateys!
Apple has blocked the new Android app Beeper Mini, which promised to bring full iMessage functionality to Android. Beeper Mini reverse engineers Apple's iMessage protocols to make Android phones look like iPhones to iMessage. However, Apple states that Beeper Mini poses significant risks to user security and privacy, leading to the blocking of the app.The co-founder of Beeper, Eric Migicovsky, assures users that they will keep the app working despite Apple's actions. Users can still access iMessage from non-Apple devices using the Beeper cloud service or alternative methods like Sunbird and Nothing Chats, which use Mac computers as intermediaries.
In the US, where iPhones dominate, Android users are often seen as green bubbles in conversations, lacking advanced iMessage features. In other countries, users have switched to alternative apps like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, which work on any smartphone. Apple has announced that it will support RCS, an upgraded version of SMS, in 2024, but Android users will still show up as green bubbles.
The main challenge for recreating iMessage on Android is that Apple does not allow third-party access to the service. Unless Apple decides to release iMessage for Android, any workaround will remain at risk of being shut out by Apple. Apple aims to keep iMessage secure and private for its users while also maintaining the exclusivity of using iPhones. Despite pressure from Google and the EU, green bubbles are expected to stay for the foreseeable future.
Related articles include the privacy disaster caused by Nothing Chats and Google's calls on the EU to make iMessage fair for Android phones.