iMessage is the only major messaging service that’s exclusive to one platform. According to Tim Cook, that’s because iMessage helps sell Apple devices — but does anyone actually buy an iPhone for iMessage alone?
Would it really hurt Apple if its popular messaging service went cross-platform? Lots of iPhone and iPad owners also use Android devices, and bringing the service to Google’s platform would provide them with a more seamless messaging experience.
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we throw virtual hands over whether Apple should bring iMessage to Android.
Killian Bell: A recent report promised Apple would finally bring iMessage to Android at WWDC back in June. That didn’t happen, and Tim Cook has since stated it never will — but as a regular user of both Android and iOS, I really think Apple should change its mind.
iMessage is one of the only messaging services that’s exclusive to just one platform. Everything else — WhatsApp, Google Hangouts, Viber, and even BlackBerry Messenger now — is available on both Android and iOS. This ensures a seamless experience for all users, no matter which platform they choose today or when their next upgrade is due. It makes sense.
iMessage users don’t have that freedom, and they should.
I think bringing iMessage to Android could help sell more iPhones. I don’t think it will encourage many people to switch from iOS to Android — at least not enough for Apple to really notice — but I do think giving long-time Android users a taste of Apple’s services could give them a thirst for more. And so many people already use iMessage that plenty of Android owners will want it.
Given your irrational fear of Android and its users, I know you’ll disagree. So tell me why.
Photo: Apple
Luke Dormehl: What self-respecting iPhone user wants to message a filthy Androider?
Okay, on a serious note, I can see why Android users would want iMessage. It’s a nifty tool, and some of the features Tim Cook mentioned at WWDC: the new “invisible ink” concept, the in-line Apple Music links and more make it all the more tantalizing. But I don’t see what Apple would gain from porting it over to Android. I’m not convinced that it would give users a taste of what Apple has to offer, and would therefore cause them to jump ship.
All it would do would be to take a selling point of iOS — one which has been very successful for Apple based on the numbers of people who are using iMessage — and rob it of its Apple exclusivity. There’s an argument to be made that Apple could have done this back when iMessage first launched, before the market was completely flooded with messaging apps, but I can’t help but think this is the same argument people made in the 1990s when they desperately wanted Apple to license macOS to other companies.
And anyone who has been reading my “Today in Apple history’ series knows how that turned out. (Spoiler: not well!)
Let me ask you a question, though: with all the aforementioned messaging apps around, what is it that you see as iMessage’s chief market differentiator? I certainly use it, but in a market where WhatsApp and others are immensely popular, what do you view as iMessage’s appeal? In other words, as an Android user, what would you gain from it being ported across?
Killian: I don’t think it does take away a selling point. No one buys an iPhone solely because it has iMessage, and if you’ve decided at some point that you want to swap iOS for Android, iMessage alone won’t convince you to stay. It’s certainly a nice feature, but I don’t think it sells many iPhones.
But Apple could make it an even bigger selling point by bringing it to Android. For instance, it could give Android users a watered-down version of iMessage — without all the fancy new features it introduced at WWDC — then those who become hooked are more likely to think about picking up an iPhone when their Android is past its best.
The appeal is a more seamless experience. Lots of iPhone users also use Android tablets, and even more iPad owners use Android phones. By making iMessage available on both platforms, Apple gives those users a greater experience.
Photo: Apple
Luke: So Apple should win over new users by offering a watered-down version of a product you don’t think is selling any iPhones anyway? I don’t really get your line of thinking here, Killian. The best reason I’ve heard for Apple bringing iMessage to Android is for people in countries where iPhones are massively the minority, and maybe one or two people out of a large group of friends have iPhones or iPads.
In that case I can appreciate that it basically forces the group to migrate over to another service like WhatsApp if they don’t want to buy iPhones. But you know what? If you’re a Mac user, you’re used to the idea that Apple operates as a walled garden or a closed ecosystem. It makes things easier and improves the user experience if Apple can control the hardware as well as the software that is apps are running on.
I don’t see how or why iMessage should be any different. No, it’s not selling iPhones on its own, but it’s one of a totality of tools that, yes, do sell Apple’s products. My dad recently jumped over to Apple for the first time, having previously been a Samsung user. He’s not particularly tech savvy and iMessage and its ability to work across all his devices (iPad and iMac as well) has been a revelation. Taking that concept and making it work on rival devices is no different to the previous demands that Apple license its operating system.
I just don’t see a compelling case for it.
Killian: There are tens of millions of iPhone users out there who haven’t used a Mac before — for many it’s their first Apple device — and so they won’t be familiar with Apple’s walled garden. And just because some of them are, that doesn’t necessarily make it okay.
You can’t keep comparing iMessage to an entire operating system, either. It obviously wasn’t a good idea to license Mac OS or OS X — that was the sole reason for buying an Apple computer — but there are a whole bunch of reasons other than iMessage to buy an iPhone.
I’m obviously not going to convince you, so let’s see what the readers think. Should Apple bring iMessage to Android, or would it really hurt its iPhone business? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments!
Friday Night Fights is a series of weekly death matches between two no-mercy brawlers who will fight to the death — or at least agree to disagree — about which is better: Apple or Google, iOS or Android?
