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Switched to android from iOS, immediately miss imessage :(
- Thread starter BearPawB
- Start date
What is the point of a platform-locked messaging service?
Leona Lewis
Banned
iMessage, along with Airdrop, are the most convincing arguments in favor of iPhone.
entremet
Member
It still works with Android phones. It defaults to SMS when messaging a non-Apple device. It's ubiquitous basically. You're not switching from one messaging service to another. It's all there.
Sgt.Pepper
Banned
I am surprised everytime Whatsapp isn't super used in the US. It is pretty ubiquitous in latin american/europe.
hydrophilic attack
Member
this is another one of those weird americanisms
just like not using the metric system, insisting on everyone being allowed to own guns (even though the kill thousands every year), hating the very idea of universal healthcare, and refusing to ever in the history of ever raise any sorts of taxes
choosing not to use whatsapp is just one of those objectively stupid decisions that the americans made for who knows what reason
ThanksVision
Member
i mainly use signal and fbook messenger on android. signal has started sucking lately though in its inability to proper sync with desktop clients. everybody has facebook messenger. i'd recommend that. but the reality is that there are too many messaging apps. on my phone i have messenger, signal, discord, instagram messages, hangouts, and whatsapp just to keep in touch with various groups.
in an ideal world there would be some sort of wrapper application (maybe even built into the OS) that consolidates all of your messaging services because god there are too many. everyone is using different things and it's sometimes annoying trying to remember what app to open just to message someone specific
in an ideal world there would be some sort of wrapper application (maybe even built into the OS) that consolidates all of your messaging services because god there are too many. everyone is using different things and it's sometimes annoying trying to remember what app to open just to message someone specific
entremet
Member
Countries and regions are different. Shocking, I know lol.
Also weird that people are criticizing iMessage when Whatsapp is owned by Facebook, not the biggest purveyors of privacy.
If most people in your social and family circles use that platform, theres no point in not using it. Its not that hard to figure out.
It is an excellent service for the platform.
starchild excalibur
Member
My dad keeps passive aggressively asking my brother and I to get Whatsapp so he can more easily send us what are essentially digital chain letters and funny video clips.
Dreadnought
Member
Well this thread took a bad turn already
Still there doesn't mean it's anything close to ideal:
Edit: And the post directly below mine 👇🏾
The Albatross
Member
I originally missed iMessage too because I was an iOS + Mac user, but as time has gone on, there's only a couple of people I'd message with iMessage... My wife and my parents/family, who have iPhones, but now the people I know who have iPhones is much less.
And then you realize that what you thought was working for years, was never really working, as non-iOS users got bastardized messages especially on group chats coming from iMessage.
Yeah, this is an iMessage and carrier problem, and it's not just iMessage -> Android that has the problem, but old iMessage -> Anybody (Android or new iOS). My family is notorious for not updating their phone software because they are convinced that new versions of anything just break what works (it's insane but I've stopped trying because I was tired of being the bad guy when I'd tell my parents or sisters to update their software, then something random would stop working and it'd be my fault). The result is any video message from my sister to anybody is literally the worst quality ever... Like postage stamp size, 5fps, horrible color, terrible sound.
But this isn't an Android problem, it's an iMessage and carrier problem. Android sends fine video to people on Android and iOS; Android receives video fine from anybody on Android and iOS.
iMessage is pretty good if you primarily only talk to people on iMessage, but Apple abstracts so much from iMessage that most people don't know when something isn't working. Apple lost a lot of credibility with how they handled messages disappearing into the ether and failing silently, for me. When I switched to Android about... I dunno 4 years ago or so, Apple never thought anybody would switch from iOS to another OS, and so they never accounted for people who used to have their number associated with iMessage and then disassociated it. The result was messages from iMessage users to former iMessage users never got delivered, with no error message, the messages were just dropped and never delivered, but iMessage didn't report anything wrong. Eventually Apple fixed this, about 2 years after the problem was first reported, but they only fixed it proactively on updated versions of iOS, so if you were on an older version of iOS (again, my family being notorious for not updating software for months and months), you just never knew there was a problem.
I only knew about the issue because a friend of mine had switched to Android from iOS a few months earlier and told me about it... And because my wife called me once and was like "Wtf are you okay why aren't you replying to texts?" And when your spouse is mad at you for ignoring texts, there's no manner of "Oh, no, this is actually a problem with your proprietary message delivery system..." that will save you or convince them otherwise.
This was eventually "Fixed" but only for iOS/iMessage/iPhone going forward, not backwards. My sister still has an old iPhone with an old version of iOS and I still regularly don't get messages from her, and all of her videos look like shit to anybody else (even people on new versions of iOS). I actually think the problem for her is a carrier issue, with Verizon ruining videos over a certain size, but she doesn't know that. My parents and her just assume "this is what video is supposed to look like over a phone." I lost faith in iMessage with the undeliverable issue, and really Apple lost a lot of credibility with me. They just don't make software that integrates with anything other than these really tiny, ideal use cases.
And then you realize that what you thought was working for years, was never really working, as non-iOS users got bastardized messages especially on group chats coming from iMessage.
Yeah, this is an iMessage and carrier problem, and it's not just iMessage -> Android that has the problem, but old iMessage -> Anybody (Android or new iOS). My family is notorious for not updating their phone software because they are convinced that new versions of anything just break what works (it's insane but I've stopped trying because I was tired of being the bad guy when I'd tell my parents or sisters to update their software, then something random would stop working and it'd be my fault). The result is any video message from my sister to anybody is literally the worst quality ever... Like postage stamp size, 5fps, horrible color, terrible sound.
But this isn't an Android problem, it's an iMessage and carrier problem. Android sends fine video to people on Android and iOS; Android receives video fine from anybody on Android and iOS.
iMessage is pretty good if you primarily only talk to people on iMessage, but Apple abstracts so much from iMessage that most people don't know when something isn't working. Apple lost a lot of credibility with how they handled messages disappearing into the ether and failing silently, for me. When I switched to Android about... I dunno 4 years ago or so, Apple never thought anybody would switch from iOS to another OS, and so they never accounted for people who used to have their number associated with iMessage and then disassociated it. The result was messages from iMessage users to former iMessage users never got delivered, with no error message, the messages were just dropped and never delivered, but iMessage didn't report anything wrong. Eventually Apple fixed this, about 2 years after the problem was first reported, but they only fixed it proactively on updated versions of iOS, so if you were on an older version of iOS (again, my family being notorious for not updating software for months and months), you just never knew there was a problem.
I only knew about the issue because a friend of mine had switched to Android from iOS a few months earlier and told me about it... And because my wife called me once and was like "Wtf are you okay why aren't you replying to texts?" And when your spouse is mad at you for ignoring texts, there's no manner of "Oh, no, this is actually a problem with your proprietary message delivery system..." that will save you or convince them otherwise.
This was eventually "Fixed" but only for iOS/iMessage/iPhone going forward, not backwards. My sister still has an old iPhone with an old version of iOS and I still regularly don't get messages from her, and all of her videos look like shit to anybody else (even people on new versions of iOS). I actually think the problem for her is a carrier issue, with Verizon ruining videos over a certain size, but she doesn't know that. My parents and her just assume "this is what video is supposed to look like over a phone." I lost faith in iMessage with the undeliverable issue, and really Apple lost a lot of credibility with me. They just don't make software that integrates with anything other than these really tiny, ideal use cases.
LambdaTeos
Member
Did you wanted to say "united states of America" instead of the whole continent?
because in other places of America it's pretty popular
apieceofstrange
Member
This is exactly what made me switch back to iOS. Almost all my contacts have iPhones and use iMessage exclusively.
YuriLowell
Member
Junior Mint
Member
This is like when Americans picked AIM while the rest of the world used MSN Messenger
One Eyed Willy
Member
Also about whatsapp, American knows about it. It was this third party option a few years ago that nobody decided they needed.
hydrophilic attack
Member
i'm just trying to explain these differences to my fellow europeans who are confused by such weird decisions
MisterR
Member
Why? It's fantastic.
TheCochese
Banned
Never met anyone IRL that uses WhatsApp. iMessage is one of the main things that brought me back to iOS, but it's not like I ever missed anything with SMS on Google. They just need to fucking pick a service and stick with it.
entremet
Member
I don't know why it's confusing though lol. We're a vastly diverse group of nations and cultures worldwide. We're not the Borg from Star Trek. This is something I notice overall, though. Country X does this different "OMG so weird!" lol. It should be common sense.
Euphoria14
Member
Huh?
How is it an eyesore? This "gigantic toolbar of apps, tons of buttons everywhere, messaging effects, stickers, etc..." are not in your face. You access them by hitting one button To the left of your text entry bar.
If you don't click that one button, which also opens access to the camera, all you see is this
Looks nothing like what you just described.
iMessage is best message.
Reckheim
Member
Nothing. Unless you like receiving l33t memes from your mom supposedly.
jts
...hate me...
You're not joking, my SO saw that as the reason to upgrade from her 6s. Not to the X yet but to another iPhone that supports in maybe a year.
I'm sure other messaging platforms will follow through with their flavour of that.
It's the exact opposite for me.
No one uses iMessage here, everyone, either with an android or ios uses whatsapp.
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
Why? What can you not do in Android that you can in imessage?
🙄
hydrophilic attack
Member
feel superior for affording the fashionable brand
Junior Mint
Member
Why would Americans switch to Whatsapp when nobody else they know uses it?
And I've never even owned an Apple phone, so this is definitely not an iMessage defense post. When I got my first smartphone, I installed Whatsapp at the recommendation of GAF and literally never sent a message through it, so I uninstalled it.
Nice shitposting, though.
Er, iPhone user here. Back in Mexico everyone used WhatsApp. Here in Japan, where iPhones are insanely popular, everyone uses Line.
Not be in a green bubble, apparently.
More like, it's pretty easy to see people who doesn't live in USA. Seems like Wathsapp is mostly used outside of the US, instead of iMessage.
theepicoftyler
Member
I just use Hangouts. I send gifs to my iOS friends via text without problems. *shrug*
hydrophilic attack
Member
who wants to use the same messaging apps as poors
Nothing at all. Imessage isn't anything special, it's an okay messaging system.
SatoAilDarko
Member
My entire extended family just uses WhatsApp and half of them have iPhones.
cpp_is_king
Member
I use Hangouts because when I'm at work I already have gmail open anyway. And it has better desktop <-> mobile support than any other chat program
I'm in Canada and only a couple people in my contact list had it when I checked. I've rarely encountered anyone using it unless they're from out of county. Canada is like the US when it comes to text. iMessage or sms.
Chezzymann
Member
America isn't a continent, north America and South America are
I mean...it's not really a thought-out decision, whatsapp just didn't pick up because people already used something else. It would be nice, but who cares. Most people have facebook anyway.