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Rumors leading up to Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference suggested Android would finally get in on the iMessage fun. It was a juicy rumor and certainly had us chopping our lips, and with Apple already having brought one of their apps to Android (albeit in the form of an app which was previously on Android that they ended up acquiring and, well, an app designed to help users switch from Android to iPhone) we thought there was a slim chance of it happening.
WWDC ended up happening, and Apple had a lot to talk about in regards to iMessage, so much so that it had us watering at the mouth and wondering why Hangouts is allowed to exist in the state it’s in. And as we watched through the end of that segment of Apple’s keynote, we slowly came to the realization that iMessage wasn’t coming to Android.
So, why not? Walt Mossberg — of Wall Street Journal fame — spoke with an executive to figure out that exact answer, and here it is in his words:
When I asked a senior Apple executive why iMessage wasn’t being expanded to other platforms, he gave two answers. First, he said, Apple considers its own user base of 1 billion active devices to provide a large enough data set for any possible AI learning the company is working on. And, second, having a superior messaging platform that only worked on Apple devices would help sales of those devices — the company’s classic (and successful) rationale for years.
Long story short? It’s good business, and that’s as simple as it needs to be. One thing is clear: Apple has an awesome messaging platform on their hands and they know it, and if it’s one of the biggest features keeping people locked into their walled garden then it’s simply bad business to extend that olive branch to those who would rather live life with Android.
[via The Verge]
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