Apple uses Messages colors to bully Android users, says Google

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iOS edited January 2022
A Google vice president claims that Apple is deliberately seeding "peer pressure and bullying" in its Messages app to get Android users to switch to iPhone.




Following a report that said teenagers are switching to iPhone to fit in, Google's Hiroshi Lockheimer claims that Apple is the bully and not its users.

Apple's iMessage lock-in is a documented strategy. Using peer pressure and bullying as a way to sell products is disingenuous for a company that has humanity and equity as a core part of its marketing. The standards exist today to fix this. https://t.co/MiQqMUOrgn

-- Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer)


Lockheimer, Google vice president for Android, argues that Apple is refusing to accept what he calls the standard RCS system. Rich Communication Services (RCS) gives Android users many of the same features as iMessage, and Lockheimer has previously offered to help Apple implement it.

As of yet, RCS is not being as universally supported by carriers as Lockheimer implies -- but much like iMessages, Android Messenger supports it.

Lockheimer isn't being benevolent by championing RCS as a universal standard, and isn't on exactly the best footing to make the criticism. Google has previously attempted developing many of its own proprietary messaging apps, most of which have been canceled and don't work any longer.

Furthermore, while Apple has seemingly achieved "lock-in" with teenagers in the US, for the rest of the world it is chiefly WhatsApp that is the most popular.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 90
    leehericksleehericks Posts: 41member
    iMessage has been unchanged since it debuted and colors were necessary for mixing SMS with a modern message service.

    There is no Apple campaign promoting blue bubbles  :D

    so silly.
    edited January 2022 jas99tmayF_Kent_Dqwerty52jeffharrispslicehammeroftruthTheObannonFilebaconstangronn
  • Reply 2 of 90
    ApplePoorApplePoor Posts: 286member
    Maybe Google would be better off worrying about their anti-trust issues than the color of the messages bubble which Apple had had since day one. 
    jas99F_Kent_Dqwerty52jeffharrishammeroftruthbaconstangronnwilliamlondonchiascstrrf
  • Reply 3 of 90
    F_Kent_DF_Kent_D Posts: 98unconfirmed, member
    I’m not too concerned about Google being butt hurt about bubble colors. Maybe they’re really worried about the amount of people switching away from their fragmented OS
    jeffharriscornchipscstrrfmagman1979StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 90
    stephanjobsstephanjobs Posts: 284member
    Ridiculous claim. 

    We the consumer are the only ones who can actually turn the identifying colors into a “bullying mentality”. 

    In the beginning there was only one color. Distinguishing between iMessages and a non-iMessage text became necessary as iMessages evolved. 

    In general, I think the color scheme was correct as iMessages were sent over as a “free” message that only required an internet connection while non-iMessages needed a cellular plan which cost money. 

    Blue=free message/iMessage 
    green=Cellular plan ($$$) 

    It wasn’t intended for just android users, it was a visual indicator for anything that would cost you money. 

    Green =💰 

    I appreciated the identifier. 
    To this day I have to have a plan to include SMS messages for non Apple uses. 

    If anything this is bullying. 

    What a dumb thing to suggest that Apple created this bullying mentality. 

    If anything apple solved a problem and created competition  to lower sms messaging plans. I still remember the days when was he text  messages were counted and if you went over a certain amount you were charged extra. 

    Sure, now most if not all plans include  unlimited calls and text messages, but let’s not forget that in the beginning we were all metered. 
    Cesar Battistini Mazieroqwerty52shaminotjwolfpslicefirelockbaconstangronnwilliamlondonchia
  • Reply 5 of 90
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,016member
    Count me amongst those who find this absolutely hilarious.  Bullying? Because they use a color to distinguish iMessages from texts?  ROTFL.  
    qwerty52jeffharrispsliceronnwilliamlondonmld53ascstrrfmagman1979BeatsStrangeDays
  • Reply 6 of 90
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    Send them some cheese to go with that whine.
    They sound like one of the shallow, petty, teenagers they say are switching because of the overwhelming pressure of blue and green bubbles. Lockheimer came off as a crybaby. Not a good look for a VP of a trillion dollar company.
    Cesar Battistini Mazieroqwerty52jeffharrisbaconstangronnwilliamlondonscstrrfmagman1979FileMakerFellerwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 90
    Cesar Battistini MazieroCesar Battistini Maziero Posts: 339member
    Google kept YouTube PIP exclusive to Android to bully iPhone users into switching to Android! 

    Kill them, burn then to ground! I want all the users and none of the work.
    ronndhawkins541williamlondonscstrrfmagman1979LukeCageBeatsFileMakerFellerwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 90
    Cesar Battistini MazieroCesar Battistini Maziero Posts: 339member
    Ridiculous claim. 

    We the consumer are the only ones who can actually turn the identifying colors into a “bullying mentality”. 

    In the beginning there was only one color. Distinguishing between iMessages and a non-iMessage text became necessary as iMessages evolved. 

    In general, I think the color scheme was correct as iMessages were sent over as a “free” message that only required an internet connection while non-iMessages needed a cellular plan which cost money. 

    Blue=free message/iMessage 
    green=Cellular plan ($$$) 

    It wasn’t intended for just android users, it was a visual indicator for anything that would cost you money. 

    Green =ߒডmp;nbsp;

    I appreciated the identifier. 
    To this day I have to have a plan to include SMS messages for non Apple uses. 

    If anything this is bullying. 

    What a dumb thing to suggest that Apple created this bullying mentality. 

    If anything apple solved a problem and created competition  to lower sms messaging plans. I still remember the days when was he text  messages were counted and if you went over a certain amount you were charged extra. 

    Sure, now most if not all plans include  unlimited calls and text messages, but let’s not forget that in the beginning we were all metered. 
    Exactly! It was a different time, and in poorer countries, SMS is still a separate charge, so it shall stay. 
    Let them whine.
    edited January 2022 qwerty52psliceronnwilliamlondonscstrrfmagman1979Beatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 90
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,668member
    It's all a bit stupid. iMessage/Messages used the colour scheming to identify those who used iMessage and those who didn't (for whom the fallback were potentially costly SMS messages to people using Apple's app. .

    Perhaps that decision could be frowned on today, now that social media is so prevalent among the wider public, and Messages could be required to only show users that are on the network. Just like Signal, WhatsApp, Telegram... 

    The problem for Apple is that that could lead some users away from Messages. 

    It's not bullying IMO, but I can see a problem (with easy solutions). 

  • Reply 10 of 90
    genovellegenovelle Posts: 1,480member
    Cesar Battistini Maziero said:
    Google kept YouTube PIP exclusive to Android to bully iPhone users into switching to Android! 

    Kill them, burn then to ground! I want all the users and none of the work.
    How about turn by turn in mobile maps which Apple helped them develop but turned competitor and withheld it until 3 months after apple surprised them by moving to their own maps. 
    ronnwilliamlondonmagman1979radarthekatBeatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 90
    amar99amar99 Posts: 181member
    Insecurity at its finest.
    jeffharrisbaconstangronnwilliamlondonscstrrfmagman1979Beatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 90
    pslicepslice Posts: 151member
    Faux victim hood. I text less to green bubble people because it’s a hit to my wallet. Period. 
    scstrrfmagman1979Beatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 90
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    Children running multi-billion dollar companies. This is one of the reasons we’re in this mess. 
    williamlondonmagman1979watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 90
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,950member
    Oh… this whole thing again? 

    Oh this time it’s a Google VP? 


    🤦🏻‍♂️
    williamlondonscstrrfmagman1979Beatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 90
    shareef777shareef777 Posts: 136member
    Google really shouldn't be one to talk. The list of proprietary messaging platforms that they've launched and abandoned is absurd. After half a dozen, they couldn't get it done right so just gave up and went to complain about how Apple nailed it on the first try.
    williamlondonscstrrfmagman1979radarthekatBeatsravnorodomkiltedgreenFileMakerFellerwatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 90
    twhitefordtwhiteford Posts: 13member
    It’s not the color of the bubble. It’s the low resolution of sms that makes iMessage superior. 
    baconstangBeatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 90
    markbyrnmarkbyrn Posts: 661member
    Describing this feature as bullying is repugnant and trivializes the real thing. 
    bloggerblogronnwilliamlondonscstrrfmagman1979radarthekatBeatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 90
    maltzmaltz Posts: 454member
    Whether a message was sent via iMessage vs SMS is important information for the user - it's hardly "bullying".  They might have a better argument, though, if they point out that Apple doesn't allow iMessage clients on non-Apple devices.  I'd personally love a Windows and/or Linux client.  That's not illegal, necessarily, but it's clearly a tactic that prioritizes platform lock-in over user needs.
    bloggerblogFileMakerFeller
  • Reply 19 of 90
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,464member
    Someone should remind Google that the reason Apple went on a limb and created Apple Maps is because Google refused to license turn-by-turn directions. Android had it on their crappy plastic devices when Apple’s premium devices didn’t 
    waveparticleronnmld53ascstrrfmagman1979radarthekatDogpersonBeatsravnorodomtommikele
  • Reply 20 of 90
    hogmanhogman Posts: 19member
    To be fair we are better than our green bubbled friends haha
    magman1979radarthekatBeatscornchipretrogustoFileMakerFellerwatto_cobra
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