Do you want to use iMessage on an Android phone? Then you’re out of luck. Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to run Apple’s chat app on competitor smartphones. We explain why.
For this reason, iMessage does not work on Android
Many people with an Android smartphone would love to install Apple’s iMessage. After all, the chat app is a great alternative to WhatsApp. Especially now that you will soon have to accept controversial conditions to continue to use that service. Unfortunately, Android and iMessage don’t work together. But why not?
The technology giant itself gave the answer during the lawsuit that Epic Games has filed against Apple. Epic’s attorneys asked why no iMessage app exists for Android. Apple CEO Craig Federighi replied that his company does not benefit from this. After all, if you can run iMessage on competitive smartphones, there is less reason to buy an iPhone.
Phil Schiller, the former Head of Marketing, spoke similar words. He said an iMessage app for other operating systems would do Apple more harm than good. So it is primarily a financial consideration.
Apple launched iMessage in 2011 with the release of iOS 5. A year later, the service was also available on macOS. From then on, users could send messages from their Mac to an iPhone and vice versa. Apple did consider making an Android app at the time, but eventually decided against it.
IMessage is available via detours
Those who really want it can get iMessage working on Android through certain detours. However, there are always drawbacks to these solutions. With WeMessage for example you need a Mac to use iMessage. You need to install the macOS app weServer, which acts as a bridge between iPhone and Android owners. Messages are actually first sent to the Mac, which then transfers them to the smartphones.
That is of course not ideal. However, given Apple’s explanation, there will probably never be an official iMessage app for Android.
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