EU will require Apple to open up iMessage (2022) • Hacker News Board

Re: EU will require Apple to open up iMessage (2022)

#111

Post by ChuckNorris89 » Thu, Mar 02, 2023, 2:19 PM UTC

b3orn wrote: post #87

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And I bet in classical Apple style, they would definitely gimp the Android iMessage app restricting some features, just to spite Android users and try to force them to buy iPhones. Android users will still be second class citizens so the transition off Whatsapp or Signal will not happen.

Now that would be the stupidest thing to do, why would they want Android users to think that Apple services are broken? Shouldn't they do the exact opposite and have a really good app giving Android users a glimpse of the holy iPhone land?

That's what I was thinking but no, that was never the case with apple.

If iMessage was as good on Android as it is on iOS, why would Android users switch? Or why would people buy iPhones in the first place?

Internal documents from Apple prove that they had builds of iMessage ready for Android but never released them because Apple knew iMessage was one moat that kept the userbase loyal and annoyed Android users enough through the bubble color discrimination to make them switch to iphone. Like parents heading down cheaper iPhones to kids instead of buying them android phones so they can all use iMessage.

FaceTime is currently available for Android users as well but the experience is shit to prove Android is poor and that iOS is the only way to go for the full experience.

I'm not making all this UB but tech YouTubers extensively covered Apple's iMessage moat with proof and arguments and how this works in their favor so I won't go into all the details.

Re: EU will require Apple to open up iMessage (2022)

#112

Post by tenpies » Thu, Mar 02, 2023, 2:20 PM UTC

willyt wrote: post #86

If everyone's messaging has to be compatible with everyone else's then maybe we will finally only need one messaging app on our phones again instead of 5. Sounds great. I just want to be able to send messages without thinking about which app I need to go into to communicate with a particular person; that really breaks my flow when I'm trying to get something done. I don't give a shit about any features apart from pic…

I'm actually very afraid of precisely that, because knowing the EU, they will want administrator access, to "combat misinformation and disinformation" and "monitor for extremism" of course. Nothing nefarious.

Re: EU will require Apple to open up iMessage (2022)

#113

Post by DeathArrow » Thu, Mar 02, 2023, 2:20 PM UTC

willyt wrote: post #86

If everyone's messaging has to be compatible with everyone else's then maybe we will finally only need one messaging app on our phones again instead of 5. Sounds great. I just want to be able to send messages without thinking about which app I need to go into to communicate with a particular person; that really breaks my flow when I'm trying to get something done. I don't give a shit about any features apart from pic…

Great. Let that one app be the all mighty Yahoo Messenger!

Re: EU will require Apple to open up iMessage (2022)

#114

Post by garblegarble » Thu, Mar 02, 2023, 2:20 PM UTC

corobo wrote: post #103

garblegarble wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's supported multiple timers for quite some, er, time. Try: "Hey Siri give me a 90 minute beef timer", "Hey siri give me a 25 minute chips timer"

Mine just seems to say "there's already a timer running, do you want to replace it?" Are we both talking about iPhone Siri?

Oh that's interesting! I'm using HomePods, how odd that iPhone Siri doesn't do multiple timers... It can work headlessly, so my guess is they've not bothered to write a UI for multiple timers on iOS... weird move

Re: EU will require Apple to open up iMessage (2022)

#115

Post by amelius » Thu, Mar 02, 2023, 2:21 PM UTC

Meanwhile WhatsApp installs only on one device (phone OR tablet, not both).

You can use the web version, but it sucks on a tablet.

Re: EU will require Apple to open up iMessage (2022)

#116

Post by userbinator » Thu, Mar 02, 2023, 2:22 PM UTC

Very aptly-named site for this article.

As someone who benefitted greatly from the era when thirdparty MSNP clients were extremely common, I think they need to do the same with Microsoft Teams.

Re: EU will require Apple to open up iMessage (2022)

#117

Post by alessioalex » Thu, Mar 02, 2023, 2:22 PM UTC

DeathArrow wrote: post #113

willyt wrote: post #86

If everyone's messaging has to be compatible with everyone else's then maybe we will finally only need one messaging app on our phones again instead of 5. Sounds great. I just want to be able to send messages without thinking about which app I need to go into to communicate with a particular person; that really breaks my flow when I'm trying to get something done. I don't give a shit about any features apart from pic…

Great. Let that one app be the all mighty Yahoo Messenger!

Yahoo Messenger! had the best emojies.

Re: EU will require Apple to open up iMessage (2022)

#118

Post by 988747 » Thu, Mar 02, 2023, 2:25 PM UTC

yourusername wrote: post #14

fwlr wrote: post #5

A 40 billion dollar fine if you don’t do as the EU says… at some point tech companies are just going to pull out of the EU, right? For most (but not all!), GDPR was worth complying with (and had benefits for citizens). This is likely to also be worth complying with (and also has benefits for citizens), but I imagine the EU is going to run out of ideas that legitimately benefit users long before it runs out of desire…

If you pull out of the EU you've now created a unified market of half a billion consumers that need a alternative to your product. That seems like a good way to kickstart a competitor.

Except EU is not a single market: there's 27 countries, speaking multiple languages, having different laws, so to serve the EU you need at least a dozen versions of your app.

Also, EU has just decided that this half billion of consumers will be downgraded to the third world standard of living (google "Fit for 55"), so they won't really have much money to spend on tech toys anyway...

Re: EU will require Apple to open up iMessage (2022)

#119

Post by codethief » Thu, Mar 02, 2023, 2:26 PM UTC

Does anyone know whether there's any implication for Signal? Will they have to comply as well and make their app interoperable with other messaging apps?

Re: EU will require Apple to open up iMessage (2022)

#120

Post by Dalewyn » Thu, Mar 02, 2023, 2:26 PM UTC

gyy52380 wrote: post #64

prepend wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's not a thing here in the Netherlands at least. People use Whatsapp. Then you have a super blue bubble effect if everyone uses WhatsApp then you don’t communicate with people who aren’t on WhatsApp. My understanding of the blue bubble isn’t that the color matters it’s that iMessage functions only work with other iMessage users (eg, delivery is slightly different, sync with other devices, special emojis, reaction…

There is no bubble because literally everyone has whatshapp. It's even available on "dumb phones". I've never met anyone of any age who doesn't have it.

>I've never met anyone of any age who doesn't have it.

Now you have.