OPINION : Google has been having a knockout meter convincing Apple to adopt theRCS messaging standardto bring iMessage - like feature toAndroidusers shoot the breeze with their sidekick oniPhone , but there could be a unlike result in the conformation of two upcoming ( and vie ) apps ; Sunbird and Beeper .
I think most people are cognizant of the blue vs fleeceable house of cards debate by now ; iPhone drug user that use iMessage are rewarded with the coveted blue bubble while using standard SMS texting with Android user results in the dreaded green bubble .
The disceptation boils down to the fact that iMessage user can send GIFs , voice note , high - quality image and school text , use the messaging political platform without cellular connectivity and more , but none of this is available if message an Android user .
Android users have something similar in the form of RCS , an option to standard SMS and MMS message that brings an iMessage - similar experience – the problem is that RCS and iMessage do n’t play well . As a result , Android users add to group chats wo n’t be capable to leave , reactions and emended messages amount through as all new text messages and more .
In fact , as a long - time iOS and iMessage substance abuser , it was one of the hardest things to set to when propel to Android . Google has done a lot to seek and convince Apple to espouse the RCS standard , include adedicated minisite , but it has for the most part fallen on deaf ears .
After all , iMessage is one of the biggest reasons to go for an iPhone , and Apple is n’t about to hand that to Android .
There are alternatives available via Google Play , but whether it’sBlueBubblesorAirMessage , the apps run to have one thing in common : you ’ll need a Mac to use iMessage on Android . The apps essentially turn your Mac into a server , forwarding incoming and outgoing message to your Android .
The fact you have to leave a Mac on forever is less than idealistic , and it ’s usually quite difficult to fix up the various embrasure forwarding rules on your router to allow it to cultivate when you ’re out and about , not just when you ’re connected to your family Wi - Fi web . So , what ’s the alternative ?
For the farseeing fourth dimension , there was n’t one , but that looks like it ’s going to convert in 2023 with the rollout of two similar ( but competing ) apps ; Sunbird and Beeper .
Known as worldwide New World chat apps , both Sunbird and Beeper look to combine messaging from various platforms into a single app , allowing you to text , expend Facebook Messenger and other social chopine and , most interestingly , iMessage . This is n’t some Mac server - based resolution either , with both apps finding fresh ways to bring iMessage to Android .
While I ’ve not had the pleasure of get other access code to Beeper , an app that boasts support for 15 societal networks and claver platforms including iMessage , Instagram , Discord , Slack and WhatsApp , I have had a lilliputian play with Sunbird .
Though further behind in developing than Beeper – Sunbird only sustain iMessage , schoolbook messaging and WhatsApp for now , with Facebook Messenger and Signal sustenance come soon – I can confidently say that the iMessage functionality works very well .
It took a couple of minutes to set up and I ’ve had no issue sending and receiving iMessages during the few weeks since . It could be a veridical game - changer for iPhone user tempted to make the startle to Android but do n’t require to give up access to iMessage .
It ’s not everlasting right now – you could only send messages from your Apple ID and not your sound numeral , and you ’ll need to create a new Apple ID unless yours has been inactive habit for more than two week – but it ’s a tantalising tease of things to come in the next few months .
Both Sunbird and Beeper are actively in exploitation justly now but you’re able to sign up to a waitlist to get former access to both . If you ’re tempt to try out the tech , you may head to theSunbirdandBeeperwebsites respectively .
So , while Apple formally refuses to bring in iMessage to Android , you ’ll shortly be able to use it anyway . Apple , you might as well just keep going RCS at this degree …
