iMessage has its advantages, but WhatsApp is a better communication tool. Graphics: Rajesh/WhatsApp/Apple
Apple heavily pushes iMessage as the best messaging app on iPhone. However, WhatsApp reigns as the world’s most popular messaging service, with more than 2 billion daily users.
What makes WhatsApp so popular? Should you ditch iMessage and switch to WhatsApp for a superior chatting experience? Find out in this comparison.
Join us for a rundown of what you can expect in iOS 16.4. Image: Cult of Mac
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: iOS 16.4 doesn’t look earth-shattering or anything, but there are some cool new features coming.
Also on The CultCast:
You need to toggle this switch on your iPhone ASAP so thieves don’t ruin your life.
Working for Apple’s secret Exploratory Design Group sounds like a dream job.
We’re giving away a very fancy backpack from Harber London.
Erfon put his new HomePod stereo pair to the test in a head-to-head audio smackdown with the originals. The results are … disappointing.
Windows users get a little taste of iMessage goodness. But just a taste!
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
No blue or green bubbles… iMessage on Windows brings with it gray bubbles. Screenshot: Windows Insider Blog
People never thought it would happen. People didn’t think it was possible. But in an update to Windows 11, you will be able to send and receive iMessages and manage your notifications through a PC.
This update comes through the Windows Insider program, which offers users prerelease versions of the desktop operating system for beta testing and software development. Microsoft ships updates to Windows annually in the fall, so this feature may arrive for everyone later this year.
Screen Sharing is a great way to give remote tech support. Image: Daniel Aragay/Wikimedia Commons/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
A little-known feature in macOS lets you share your Mac’s screen to someone else’s Mac directly from iMessage — no third-party apps or downloads required.
It’s great if you need to give tech support to a family member in a pinch; often you just need to see what’s happening instead of counting on what your dear old father is trying to describe over the phone. Get him to share his screen with you, and you likely can solve his problem quickly.
Even better, it’s not complicated setting up screen sharing on a Mac like it is on a PC. It takes only a few clicks in the Messages app. Let me show you all around this awesome hidden feature.
Google wants iPhone to adopt RCS and end the differences between blue bubbles and green bubbles. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Google’s campaign to talk Apple into supporting Rich Communication Services in iMessage continues. The Android-maker introduced a new website Tuesday that claims that because iPhone does not support RCS it lacks “modern texting standards” and causes unnecessary problems.
Apple has long resisted RCS, choosing instead to reserve the best benefits of its messaging software to iPhone users.
In iOS 16, you'll be able to edit your iMessages to ensure you don't accidentally call your boss Babe... again. Photo: Apple
Apple’s Messages app is getting great new features in iOS 16 that will give users greater control over the way they communicate with friends, family and co-workers.
iMessage is already arguably one of the biggest chat services, thanks to its deep integration with iPhone and the rest of the Apple ecosystem. The new features, including the ability to tweak or delete messages that have already been sent, should make it even more competitive — and potentially less embarrassing.
Location sharing is a powerful iOS feature that can quickly connect you with friends and family. Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Location sharing is a highly versatile and useful feature of iOS. When you’re trying to meet up with someone, traveling in a new place or spending a day out with friends, you can quickly share where you all are. It proves super-handy in big public spaces like malls, amusement parks and stadiums.
Giving directions on precisely where to pick up someone along a street block or in a parking lot is made much easier by sending a pin in an iMessage chat. With Family Sharing, I can see if my wife is on her way home without first sharing her ETA in Apple Maps. Another benefit is that I can use Find My to ping her phone if it’s lost in the house.
Just how big will the iPhone 14 Pro camera bump be? Image: 91 Mobiles and Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: So, what’ll it be first? Good news or bad news about iPhone 14? We’re talking about Touch ID, a possible Apple hardware subscription service and an even bigger camera bump on the Pro model. Hoo boy!
Also on The CultCast:
A peek inside Apple’s new Studio Display proves surprising.
Would a 15-inch MacBook Air by any other name smell as sweet?
The EU might wreck iMessage.
We’re giving away five leather crossbody iPhone cases from Noémie.
What “The Slap” heard ’round the world says about Apple events.
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video livestream, embedded below.
This week’s episode is brought to you by CultCloth. Forget about that overpriced Apple Polishing Cloth. This is the cleaning cloth your Apple devices deserve.
iMessage may not be an Apple exclusive for much longer. Photo: Cee Ayes/Unsplash
The European Union plans to break down the barriers between mobile messaging services. With its Digital Markets Act, it plans to force services like iMessage, WhatsApp, and smaller messaging platforms to play nicely together.
The move would be a major blow to Apple, which has long used iMessage — which it refuses to bring to Android — as a big selling point of iPhone.