iMessages is like a footnote here. I was surprised it was even considered.
this post was submitted on 13 Feb 2024
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Now that you’ve let your guard down, Apple is free to do whatever they want. It’s exactly exactly what Apple wanted.
they wanted to be irrelevant in the European market for chat applications?
no, merely considered irrelevant— for legal purposes. why? read the headline.
Im not sure you understands how this work. but anyway... they can do whatever with their service. I (or any person I know) dont plan to use it 🤷
It’s a win for Apple, but isn’t it also sort of a loss because they’re not popular enough to count?
@Bitrot Kinda like that. Most friends of mine don't even own an iPhone. Those who do, generally use Facebook Messenger to speak to each other. If anyone is not on Facebook, they are surely on WhatsApp, or they can be reached via the classical phone calls and SMS messages (but I've yet to meet someone who I need to use these with, as they are clearly inconvenient as hell). If there's a group chat, it is generally on WhatsApp.
I heard Telegram is popular as well in the post-soviet space. It is my fallback as well, and I'm not in one. Plenty of Romanian channels (news or organizations), and I speak with a couple of friends from there. I realize this is just "a different WhatsApp" from the POV of a centralized silo, but the features are great and I'd clearly trust Telegram more than Meta.
@brisk
I've always had android and never had any iMessage issues since whatsapp, telegram etc are much more popular here
@And009 yea, WhatsApp and other Meta products are especially so ubiquitous.
Hope signal becomes the default or brings in some kind of support without the meta tracking
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The government labeling something that Apple fans love as “not needing regulation” is purely a win for Apple. Imagine if 99% of text messages sent were via iMessage, and the EU kept the same ruling. That means that Apple has a functioning monopoly that is not considered a monopoly because there’s technically an alternative.
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Did you just say Apple would try to prevent their users from switching to iMessage? Apple knows iMessage is a massive selling point for iPhones which is the reason Apple is so afraid of opening iMessage up to begin with.
Bu that's the point, it isn't a selling point in europe. People here mainly use WhatsApp. As a european iPhone user with a lot of other iPhone users in my social circle I pretty much never get an iMessage. I got one two weeks ago, but before that my last iMessage was in 2018. I've never heard anyone here talk about blue vs green bubbles and never heard iMessage mentioned in an Android vs iOS discussion.
iMessage is a massive selling point for iPhones
What? No one buys an iPhone for iMessage. That’s absurd.
It is a major point of social pressure. People get legitimately upset when they start a group chat and realize one of the members doesn’t have an iPhone. That absolutely makes it valuable to Apple
That’s a minor irritation, hardly a reason to completely swap ecosystems. This sounds fringe/speculative. There is no way this is an actual driver of iPhone adoption. Any sources?
I agree it’s a minor irritation by most standards, but when all that’s on the line is making jokes about someone based on their choice of phone there’s no reason not to pressure someone else. As to sources, I see it happen all the time. I used to be the one who upset people, then I bought an iPhone and almost everyone I texted got really excited to see the color of our chat change. I’ve also seen countless memes about green chat bubbles and people ruining group chats because of their Androids. I’m not sure you’re going to get much more reliable sources than anecdotal ones for something like this.
I've been told that that's how the kids roll these days in the US.
As a us citizen this is news to me
Well, if you don't know that, it means that either, you are not a US citizen, which we ruled out, ooooor.... oooh, I hate to break it to you but... you have lost touch with "the youngsters" as they say. You are old.
Show me a source that people are buying iPhones so they can use iMessage. This sounds like a gut/“it sounds true” statement to me. I would be surprised if it was an actual driver of sales in any meaningful way.
There’s no need for the sarcasm/tone.
What tone? I was pulling your leg a little, as in "haha u old", no sarcasm intended.
Regarding the sources: I just did a quick google and here is the most trustworthy source of business insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-iphone-ownership-creates-culture-of-multitasking-2019-6
that aside, one of the connections I have to the US has kids and her kids actually experienced some isolation because the kids only had "cheap android" and thus couldn't use iMessages which was what all the other kids pointedly used because teenagers are suckers for made up common identity bullshit. It was that one specific brand of baggies when I was young, now iit seems to be iPhones in some places.
This article is 5 years old and it would be a massive stretch to say it proves people buy iPhones in any appreciable number for iMessage. I get what you’re driving at but this is very indirect, dated, and just overall insufficient. It’s mainly about multitasking at the end of the day.
I guess I misread the tone, no worries.
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@skullgiver For Apple, the US I think is their main market. Here is still that thing that you need to be rich enough to afford, so this is why iMessage is not such a great thing.
I think that by staying below the EU radar they get to keep their walls for the US users, where regulations are more lax and don't pose any risk for their business model.
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Imagine if 99% of text messages sent were via iMessage, and the EU kept the same ruling.
If 99% of messages were sent via iMessage the ruling would have been different. if it ever fulfils the criteria needed to be considered gatekeepers, then they will be designed as such.
I’m sure the rule would be different. My point was mostly to say this is in no way bad for Apple
It's not bad for apple, but iMessage is so irrelevant here in Germany, even the most die hard Apple fans will use WhatsApp no matter what.
A loss for European consumers, you mean.
Apple would rather a hit to their ego than a legal restriction anywhere. A little marketing can fix the former, but the latter can be permanent and fatal.
🤖 I'm a bot that provides automatic summaries for articles:
Click here to see the summary
The iMessage service did meet the definition of a "core platform," serving at least 45 million EU users monthly and being controlled by a firm with at least 75 billion euros in market capitalization.
But after "a thorough assessment of all arguments" during a five-month investigation, the Commission found that iMessage and Microsoft's Bing search, Edge browser, and ad platform "do not qualify as gatekeeper services."
While Apple has agreed to take up RCS, an upgraded form of carrier messaging with typing indicators and better image and video quality, it will not provide encryption for Android-to-iPhone SMS, nor remove the harsh green coloring that particularly resonates with younger users.
Apple is still obligated to comply with the Digital Markets Act's other implications on its iOS operating system, its App Store, and its Safari browser.
While it's unlikely to result in the same kind of action, Brendan Carr, a commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission, said at a conference yesterday that the FCC "has a role to play" in investigating whether Apple's blocking of the Beeper Mini app violated Part 14 rules regarding accessibility and usability.
The blocking and workarounds continued until Beeper announced that it was shifting its focus away from iMessage and back to being a multi-service chat app, minus one particular service.
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