Although Apple CEO Eddy Cue suggested bringing iMessage to Android in 2013, it never happened. Now we finally know why, and there still seems to be a chance that it might happen.
Why Android doesn’t have iMessage yet
Apple will soon face Epic Games in court to settle the Fortnite riot. In preparation for this case, discussions and documents are being made public, which give us a unique look behind the scenes at the companies.
The Verge found that in one of the documents there is a conversation between Eddy Cue and the rest of the Apple top. In it, Cue argues in April 2013 to set up a new team that focuses entirely on porting iMessage to Android. The timing is no coincidence: it was precisely at the time when Facebook was preparing for the acquisition of WhatsApp.
Eddy Cue believed in the power of iMessage and wanted to make it the ‘industry standard’. “I don’t know yet how we can make money off it, but it costs little to make it possible,” said Cue.
Apple was afraid of switching to Android
However, a majority of the Apple top rejected the idea of Cue. Craig Federighi’s statement shows why: he wasn’t convinced iMessage was good enough at the time. “We need more than a better messaging app than the competition,” said Federighi. “Without a strategy to become the best chat app in the world, I see it primarily as a risk that iPhone families are more likely to give their children an Android phone.”
A majority agreed, and iMessage still hasn’t appeared on Android since then. However, a lot has changed since 2013. WhatsApp has indeed been taken over by Facebook and is therefore increasingly getting into the privacy mess. In the meantime, Apple has expanded iMessage every year with new functions, which makes the app more and more distinct from the competition.
A lot has also changed with regard to prices of iPhones. With the iPhone SE and iPhone 12 mini, iPhones have become more affordable, while many Android brands have grown a bit more towards the suggested retail price of the iPhone. In view of Federighi’s arguments at the time, it does not seem to be ruled out that iMessage will ever make the switch to Android. After all, Apple Music can also be downloaded on Android for years.