Apple’s iMessage platform may soon be available on products that aren’t designed in Cupertino.
iMessage is set to get its first-ever app for Android, according to a new report citing a “source familiar with the company’s thinking.” If so, it sounds like it could spell trouble for Facebook Messenger and Google’s new messaging app, Allo.
“Apple will announce that iMessage encrypted text messaging is coming to Android users at WWDC next Monday at WWDC 2016,” reports MacDailyNews. “Apple is increasingly focused on services which means opening up certain avenues beyond its own iOS and OS X platforms.”
If true, this won’t be the first time Apple has embraced Android users. Last fall, the company debuted an Apple Music app for Android.
The addition of end-to-end encryption could become a huge draw to Android users. Both Facebook Messenger and Google Allo have added the security protection to their platforms, but only as an opt-in feature because their AI bots aren’t very useful if they can’t read users’ messages.
Bringing iMessages to Android could also be a big win for Apple Pay. Apple is supposedly planning to use the iMessage platform to power peer-to-peer payments on Apple Pay.
More details coming during WWDC 2016 keynote
All the details for iMessage on Android should be revealed next Monday during Apple’s WWDC 2016 keynote, along with big news about iOS 10, macOS, a Siri SDK and much more. As usual, Cult of Mac will liveblog all the action, so come back and get ready for a ton of glorious new software. The keynote is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Pacific on June 13.
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
13 responses to “iMessage may be about to cross the Android divide”
Apple should definitely introduce a new color scheme to differentiate iMessage for iOS (blue) from iMessage for Android. Perhaps brown?
Would rather see cross platform FaceTime then iMessage, both are. Ended and should been released years ago. With Google releasing its video and messaging app for iOS this summer Apple is forced to put FaceTime and iMessages on Android.
Forced? Are you for real?
Forced to comets with Duo and Allo yes. Apple can’t let Google have cross platform video and. Essay ing apps from Google and not compete. Some or many would switch from IMessage and FaceTime to Duo and Allo and make iMessages and FaceTime less relevant.
Google has always been cross platform and in some cases iOS first.
So no. Allo and Duo won’t affect affect iOS.
As for should have been released years ago, at least with FaceTime it wasn’t really that easy because Apple doesn’t own all if the patents behind it.
I think Apple should try to figure out how to get iMessages to successfully sync across its own platforms (not sure about anyone else, but stuff has been off sync between my iPhone and two Macs all day) before adopting a new one.
Finally!
Love the idea (mentioned below) with making the Android version brown :-)
It should be on Android & Windows. But before they do that, they need to improve it! I never have a problem with people receiving my WhatsApp messages, but iMessage can be very erratic.
I think it might be how you’ve got it set up? I never had an issue.
I guess it is better to use WhatsApp then iMessage. Everybody use WhatsApp no metter what a phone you have.
iMessage connects to many different services so it’s easier to reach people.
Hell no. I deleted that WhatsApp shit years ago.
well that sucks it should be just iPhone and mac only