this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2024
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[–] 9point6 67 points 7 months ago (6 children)

I'll never wrap my head around why America cares so much about iMessage.

The literal rest of the world has managed to settle on chat apps that aren't locked into a single vendor.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

That’s easy: unlimited SMS was common on most mobile plans in the US as early as the mid-2000s. Unlike the rest of the world, Americans had no financial incentive to use WhatsApp.

[–] 9point6 6 points 7 months ago (2 children)

We had unlimited SMS by the time smartphones rolled around in the UK, we still decided not having some weird caste system based on what messaging app you use was the obvious choice.

In fact I remember my American mates were charged for receiving texts, which I never heard of from any other Europeans, so I'd say there was probably a stronger incentive your side of the pond

[–] CoggyMcFee 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

It’s not a weird caste system. It’s just that people have always primarily just used SMS in the US, and if the people texting all happen to have iPhones, then there are some extra features tacked on (from the perception of the end user). Having been in many many large group chats for various activities and events, where it’s never 100% apple and just SMS, absolutely nobody cares at all. It’s just that maybe some teens and tweens use the colors to judge and exclude, which they famously find justifications for doing in every generation, and probably even that is overblown by the media.

There simply was never an incentive to kind of force everybody to move over to e.g. WhatsApp, and people don’t bother to do something like that en masse without a need to.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

In the US you either had unlimited SMS or no SMS plan at all, in which case you got charged for every single message, sent or received. But I remember having unlimited SMS as early as 2003.

If you had no SMS at all then you certainly didn't have a data plan, which ruled out WhatsApp entirely.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

@9point6 @ardi60 Cross-platform, sure, but most are still controlled by single vendors, like the two billion people using WhatsApp (Meta), the 1.3 billion using WeChat, the 930 million using Messenger (Meta again), etc…

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Because Americans are obsessed with iphones, as a status symbol and "American" product and it's a default...no effort required.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I find it funny it's called an American product as its iconic design was made by a Brit, CPU is manufactured in Taiwan and the rest is made and assembled in China

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

But but but it's Designed In California™ , that makes it All American 🇺🇲🇺🇲🫡🫡

[–] set_secret 4 points 7 months ago

i assume you're using the metric system too then?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Most of my family here in Australia use iPhones, and by extension, iMessage. Granted, they also use FB Messenger, Snapchat and all the rest, but mainly iMessage. It's the default and it works for them.

I can assure you that this is not a thing exclusive to the US.

[–] VelociCatTurd 14 points 7 months ago
[–] [email protected] 12 points 7 months ago

Isn't this the service that was sending messages from the app to the servers over plain HTTP?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago
[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago

Lol okay. Good luck with that

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

strange time to do this when apple is being forced to support rcs

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

gonna wait for the next big thing: moonbird.

[–] drislands 4 points 7 months ago

Sigh. I'd like this to work, but I'm not holding my breath after what Beeper went through.

[–] Mr_Blott 1 points 7 months ago

I can't think of a single reason that I would need iMessage on an Android