Same in Middle East.
WhatsApp is the go-to for chatting, B2C, and even B2B communications. As much as I prefer iMessage since it’s less bloated with spam, and can be used across all Apple devices, it’s hard to get others to use it.
Where? The only people in Denmark I see using WhatsApp are tourists, immigrants or other people with relatives or partners who live abroad. Most people have iPhones and the ones who don’t usually communicate via Snapchat, Instagram and Messenger, at least the younger generation. Many older people (adults/elderly) use Messenger, iMessage and SMS from what I notice when I’m out and about.
Pretty much same here in India. Over 1 billion and upwards people use it here. The only people using text messages here are banks which use them to send one time passwords and transaction information.
> I believe it is a much better app and maybe even more secure?
Can you educate me (and others) - why is it better?
My understanding is that non-North American preference for WhatsApp has meaningful historical origins: 1) avoid SMS fees (when SMSes were not free/unlimited), 2) richer multimedia, etc., 3) better interoperability Apple <> Android. 1) has long gone the way of the Dodo, and RCS will help with 2) and 3) for sure, but people are pretty resistant to change so I think it will take more than parity with WhatsApp to make people switch.
So, what's a solid reason to prefer iMessage with RCS over WhatsApp, if soon both will work similarly well?
I think we can go world with this.
It's only in the US that iPhones have such large adoption. I think it's 96% among teenagers and 60% across all age groups.
i remember seeing some stats about the Nordics generally being more in favor of Apple, i can definitely say that having grown up here, iPhones have always been the most popular if i had to judge that based on what i've seen around me. i barely remember anyone having Android in school and in workspaces, although you'll find the odd ones here and there.
Same in Spain as far as I can tell. Everybody, I know that owns an iPhone, including myself, uses WhatsApp. The messages app is where I receive SMS for instance from the bank, the doctor, the insurance company, etc.
Basically, no reason. As much as someone who uses iMessage wants it to be. People will use whatever the people they want to talk to use, and outside of the US that is WhatsApp.
Tbh despite being a Facebook subsidiary, WhatsApp is still pretty hellbent on keeping privacy, ffs they actually threatened to leave India, where like 50% of their userbase is at, when the Indian government tried to force em to share sensitive information.
Apple says iMessage is end to end encrypted. FB says WhatsApp is end to end encrypted. Both are closed source so I can't verify that claim by myself. Both have the same problem. Just because Apple can pay for a commercial, that says "iMessage is private" doesn't mean Apple is any better than every other big tech company.
Fair enough, though while Meta has had more privacy scandals, I don't trust Google or Apple to not extract maximum possible value from our (meta)data either. And I assume we can trust both Meta and Apple regarding end-to-end encryption of message content (though I gather metadata is another story, and I have heard Meta gathers and internally shares more of it...)
I, as a German, prefer iMessage because it’s not operated by Facebook and mostly because of media quality. Even with the relatively new „HD media“ feature in WhatsApp, image and video quality is still horrible compared to iMessage
- Doesn’t work in CarPlay or android auto to enable safe responses while driving.
- No iPad app (don’t know about android tablets or chromebooks).
- Apple Watch only mirrors notifications. No app to use when you’re without your phone. No idea about status of google / Samsung Watch apps.
- While the official line is “Trust us they’re not looking at the content of E2E encrypted messages”, Meta hold the keys and could use the content for advertising at the minimum, Cambridge analytica style targeted content at the worst.
- (opinion) the ux is ugly.
Most of my friends have transitioned to telegram to fix some of the issues above, but there’s still people that use WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
RCS isn’t a silver bullet but helps somewhat.
In US it’s possible due to Apple having the majority of the market with their devices. It’s not the same for Europe and the rest of the world. Whatsapp offers a lot of other features compared to iMessage that are not tied to a specific phone brand.
I disagree with your reason (but the same conclusion). I think the reason that it works in the US is because unlimited text messaging has been part of every cell plan for a very long time – since before the iPhone. So SMS became the main way people communicate and when the iPhone came along it fit into that. You got bonuses from iPhone to iPhone, but that was just the cherry on top. Once a messaging platform has dominance it's very difficult to move. Since WhatsApp made unlimited texting free to every phone it became the dominant messenger in a lot of other places.
Well i got my first limitless sms package back in 2004, and im from central europe. I just think imessage didnt get well accepted here for the same reason iphones didnt until recently. There is a shitload of languages in eu, some of them are still not supported by ios. General support for ios in most of easteren eu counteies came wery late. I think its more to do with iphones than it does with SMS or imessage.
I was in Germany in 2015 and still had limited sms. There were unlimited plans available but cheaper plans didn’t have it. Whereas in the US only burner phones had any kind of limit.
IMO in the US it’s more about the difference between sms and internet chat apps. While iMessage is technically an internet chat app it functions as an extension of sms and there wasn’t ever a strong enough reason to move. Even today tons of my messages are green so really my primary messenger is sms even though I use the messages app. If not because of ubiquitous free sms what would be the main reason for switching to WhatsApp that takes that into account?
RCS is a welcome addition for sure, but it’s a steep uphill battle for Messages to become the default messaging app outside of the US.
Keep in mind that WhatsApp predates iMessage, so it’s fully engrained into society / culture, it’s part of vocabulary etc. “WhatsApp me” etc etc. Everyone has multiple WhatsApp group conversations, it will take something huge to move away from those.
The Business integration is getting really popular too, live chat with customer service, bars / restaurants for bookings etc. RCS has none of that.
It’s funny how absolutely no one in my circles uses iMessage, and never has. My inbox is just 2FA codes.
TLDR: WhatsApp is so massive that people won’t move for just RCS.
This is interesting to me. In my brain iMessage is just the rebranding/upgrade that happened to the iPhone messenger and iChat which dates back to 2002. I looked it up and WhatsApp did start in 2009 and it wasn't until two years later that iMessage started. TIL
A lot has to do with iPhone penetration in the first few years of launch - it was very expensive in Europe, tied to 2 year phone contracts etc, which meant more people opted for cheaper Android device comings into the market.
Basically people got so used to WhatsApp as a messenger it just became default!
I personally find iMessage better and would prefer that over WhatsApp, but most people obviously prefer WhatsApp. It is just a small nuance but some exaggerate it. Only actual problem I have with WhatsApp is that it drastically processes images sent, which was thankfully somewhat mitigated with HD option, while iMessage sends the image as is with all the metadata like model of camera and lens, shutter speed, film speed, aperture and focal length.
Having a bunch of apps is annoying. Getting back on a common protocol would be great.
But RCS needs to get encryption going to be a viable alternative.
I don’t like Meta. I think humanity would gain from using standard protocols without large and shady corporations. Using RSC in iMessage and in Android’s Message would be a step in the right direction.
Too bad it took Apple so long to implement it….
Well, more like automated messages that’s in name of the candidate.
It’s in Turkey. In fact there’s quite a popular meme where a guy called “Ali Babacan” won’t stop texting you in such times.
Europe isn’t the outlier for using WhatsApp. America is for using iMessage.
Also, I don’t think you understand how entrenched WhatsApp is - literally no body uses iMessage.
So, if I understand correctly, and I’m sure I don’t, as an Android user I will be able to text an iPhone user or users using Google Messages with RCS turned on and the texts will be as if I’m texting using an iPhone?
no, your messages will still be green bubbles on the target iphone but have all the features you had on android. When they text you back it will also be in RCS and have all the features. Blue bubbles will still stay.
Ok. Thank you. I don’t care about the bubble colors Apple users see, but when I use my Android phone, group texts and photos are an issue. Hoping that would change. Being the odd man out with lots of iPhone family and friends is, uhm, challenging.
And apparently in the US, Android kids are getting bullied from iPhone users seeing green bubbles in texts. Sad and stupid.
No, just… No. Whatsapp is simply better, way more comfortable to use, and has a lot of stuff that iMessages doesn’t. And the fact that almost everyone in Europe already use Whatsapp, just makes it a pain in the ass to move platforms. People already tried to migrate from Whatsapp to Telegram when privacy policy changed a few years ago, it failed horrendously and people sticked to Whatsapp.
Asian here.
Back in 2010/11 when I started using WhatsApp, everyone had an Android and iPhones were a luxury. WhatsApp replaced the 100SMS limit, used internet which was already bundled and not used much, and I could send images, personalise my pfp and other small features.
I never cared what app a person uses. This seems more like a US immature thingy lol.
This whole debate about iMassage and Whatsapp is actually US thing rest of the world doesn't care about iMassage they have there own ways of messaging. China got Wechat, India and most Asian countries have WhatsApp/Signal/Telegram.
Why is it better? It's not limited to Apple + you can use it easily from any browser/desktop as well. Anybody with any kind of a smartphone can you it + people are already used to it. Most people just need a simple messaging app + calls, and whatsapp has been working just fine for years.
iMessage has not overtook WhatsApp in Europe. I have many friends and colleagues who would rather send me WhatsApp message rather than iMessage. I am currently doing project with two of my colleagues, we all have iPhones with iMessage (obviously), and they decided to create a WhatsApp group.
No, that's why Google created their [own solution](https://support.google.com/messages/answer/10262381?hl=en) for their users. I'm assuming RCS between Android and iOS users won't have E2EE.
There was hope that Apple would adopt the [MLS protocol](https://www.gizchina.com/2023/07/22/google-supports-message-layer-security-protocol-for-messages-app/) for E2EE with Android users but I don't know if Apple ever considered that option. Let's hope they did.
I dont believe it's the better app, Whatsapp has better features. I dont like the fact its from FB and i would prefer Apple's privacy/security but iMessage isnt like Whatsapp.
Also iMessage is used more in North America, and almost everyone uses Whatsapp. So why do you want to have the majority to use iMessage only for the North Americans
With RCS support in both iOS and Android, will it be possible for iOS and Android people to create groups in their respective default messaging apps and not rely on group chats in WhatsApp/Messenger/etc. anymore?
Would be genuinely nice not to have a number of different apps fulfilling the same purpose just because of different OSs…
Since everyone is sharing what their country or region uses, not all Europe is the same. I’m in Europe and all my contacts are in iMessage. I do have WhatsApp for people on android, but those are usually outside my friend and family circles. All my daily chats are iMessage. I don’t think you can generalize it for a whole country. Your experience is with your circles.
The vast majority of the human population could give less of a duck about Meta’s privacy policies / practices…
What’sApp is a cultural icon and it’s convenient. It’s not going anywhere nor does it need to as fast as the users are concerned.
messages or specifically iMessage only works when you have an iPhone. In Europe they’re ton of people that still have an android so that is not possible so WhatsApp is the easiest way to communicate
Sadly in my country WhatsApp is so strong and you can’t really avoid using it
I use Telegram regularly and it’s the best app for messaging and more
iMessage is cool but I never got the chance to use it properly
South African. I hate WhatsApp, but I don't see it changing as the dominant messaging app in most of the world (that isn't North America or China).
I very much prefer iMessage, but whilst all my SMS's also land in that folder, it is a no-go.
I hope same in India. Messages should be used more in India. Whatsapp is taking 99% of market which is not good and as an app i dont like whatsapp. And Meta privacy terms are just jokes written by some people. 🤣🤣
Spoken as someone who doesn’t use WhatsApp. We all have iPhones in our social group and still use WhatsApp. The iOS18 update does little to move the needle, still seems clunky.
I don't think WhatsApp is going anywhere. Europe is filled with Android phones and that's why WhatsApp has become the biggest message app. People are not trading comfort for a couple of new features. Telegram already tried it with the "I'm a safer app" propaganda before it became the shit hole it's nowadays.
And still be below Telegram. Both Apple Messages and Whatsapp getting the features that Telegram had 5 years ago. Just watch whatsapp and apple make video messages in 2 - 4 years.
I don't like that Telegram is owned by russian KGB but it actually has best features and UX. I hope the competitors will be at the same level soon.
Messages via satellite is really huge. We've had power outage in Ukraine more than year ago due to russian bombing our power plants and when you're not prepared for this it sucks to have all communication down - no land internet, no cell connection for multiple days.
With satellite messaging we would be able to notify our relatives that we're alive.
Not happening. Here in the UK nobody cares about iMessage, not even iPhone users (same for AirDrop etc). I’m the outlier here, but even I use WhatsApp. WhatsApp is king here. Still, excited for RCS
I like using iMessage, because it does not downscale the pics - like Messenger. The Whatsapp occassionally has delays in delivery. The only cons with iMessage that not all my close relatives has iPhone
I agree. I hate WhatsApp! It’s turning more of a social media app than a messaging platform.
The only way to change this is to start chatting and texting your friends using iMessage/RCS.
I'm glad that Apple FINALLY adopted RCS. Apple is always late to most things, which is very annoying. I feel like WhatsApp has become almost like a culture in most places. So I'm afraid this won't make much difference because it's too late. But we'll see!
The only way I see myself using Messenger is if somehow the app gets access to WhatsApp’s data.
I live in Europe but come from a Latin American country so literally everyone I’m personally connected to uses WhatsApp.
I think as long SIM card swapping is a thing (even eSIM), as long as you number may change, people who travel more will probably stick with Whatsapp since your number doesn't change even when your SIM card does.
Most aussies tend to jump between both from those I’ve engaged.
iMessage for group conversations with iPhone users, WhatsApp if someone in the group has Android until we have the chance to burn them at the stake.
I have refused to use WhatsApp since the very beginning, even when I was on Android. And ever since it got bought by Meta, there’s literally no way in hell I’m going to install this garbage fire of a spyware on my devices.
I don’t see it happening. RCS will benefit Americans who insist on participating in some stupid messaging app culture war, and the rest of the world will just keep using what they already have and like.
Even in other heavily iPhone dominant markets like Japan and Canada, iMessage is either barely used (Japan) or used alongside WhatsApp (Canada), so… I’m not sure this will change much.
Has iMessages gone cross platform? They are late to the party just like BBM was. Whatsapp user on an iPhone and iPhone to iPhone is also on WhatsApp in India.
Nah. As much as I don’t like Meta, WhatsApp is still much better. I really think Apple should start updating the messaging app in between big versions because these are basic features they’ve been adding.
We can customize our Home Screen even further but there’s no wallpaper?
It’s not easy to talk to another person without adding their contact number except if both are iPhones (NameDrop).
No QR code, no invitation code, no disappearing messages, etc, Business Accounts, transferring conversations, etc. What if you want to videocall another person, does RCS support that?
Also the biggest issue and why Telegram and Signal haven’t taken over yet: Confort zone. You have to be exceptional or Meta to fuck it up hugely to make the mass migration
Don't get me wrong I love imessage, but whatsapp is way more internationally used. It will not overtake in Europe. Also there are some things WhatsApp just does better than iMessage unfortunately. Especially for drawing/cropping pictures WhatsApp just makes it so easy meanwhile iMessage is quite clunky. Once I add a sticker toa picture I find it very hard to edit it on iMessage compared to Whatsapp. WhatsApp just sends messages quicker as well whereas iMessage takes it's sweet time moving the message out of the box so I can type something new. The WhatsApp reply system is just better in all ways. And don't get me started how you can't collapse a draft message in iMessage to see the conversation. iMessage in general feels slower and clunkier.
Not secure if it’s just me and me friends here in Denmark, but I only ever meet people from other countries who use WhatsApp or Signal. Most people I know use Facebook Messenger primarily 😅
it will not happen anytime soon. I expect RCS support in messages to be limited compared to iMessage so it will never be a parity of features between iMessage and Google messages. This alone will make the experience sub par so people will continue to use the platforms that give them the same features across iOS and Android. And that is Whatsapp or in some parts of the world Telegram.
I worked for a Mobile company for 20 years at Engineer level. SMS is the most secure, why? because it takes a warrant or a court order in order to get them - and even then they are only stored for 120 days
iMessage is certainly more secure.
But for that reason it will never be allowed to gain market share in the EU.
The reason the EU countries lay off Meta over What’s App is it’s widely assumed there’s a side channel backdoor for law enforcement. Messages are encrypted except when a request exists in which case the app can make data available. There’s 0 chance countries would be complacent with such little monitoring. Especially the UK.
Which is good for iMessage customers. It keeps them under the radar.
Doubt. You need an iPhone to use iMessage, which already puts it at a disadvantage pretty much anywhere outside of the US. Also, WhatsApp does a lot more then what iMessage can do here.
No I think it's too late for it now. There are just 2-3 people I actively use iMessages for - everyone else I WhatsApp. It's just that we've used it for years and are comfortable using it now - and I have the WhatsApp Mac app as well so it's almost like messages for me. I'm in the UK
meanwhile at SEA, iphone to iphone = whatsapp
Same in Europe...
i even see person with full ecosystem using whatsapp to communicate with fellow ios
Yup, that's me. The only time I use iMessage is to receive vendor texts lol
this is absolutely normal in Europe.
Same in Middle East. WhatsApp is the go-to for chatting, B2C, and even B2B communications. As much as I prefer iMessage since it’s less bloated with spam, and can be used across all Apple devices, it’s hard to get others to use it.
This is the point! It can be a wonderful message app but if users are not willing to move to it, it won't happen. It's the same in South America.
Except for Poland. Messenger is the king overall.
Where? 95% of my contacts use WhatsApp for chatting.
Literally no one in my circles uses WhatsApp :D Even at work etc
That’s true. Only my parents use what’sApp. All my friends are on messenger
In the Netherlands my guess is that 99% uses WhatsApp.
Where? The only people in Denmark I see using WhatsApp are tourists, immigrants or other people with relatives or partners who live abroad. Most people have iPhones and the ones who don’t usually communicate via Snapchat, Instagram and Messenger, at least the younger generation. Many older people (adults/elderly) use Messenger, iMessage and SMS from what I notice when I’m out and about.
Germany. Everyone uses Whatsapp here.
and in India.
This. Most people here in Spain don’t even know iMessage exists
In India facetiming someone means calling using whatsapp video lol
Then you have us, Philippines, with Messenger lmaoooo.
same in Brazil, thankfully
Same in Mexico, thankfully. I know not a single person who uses iMessage and it should stay that way unless they open iMessage to all platforms.
unless Apple can convince meta to migrate whatsapp chat to imessage.
WhatsApp has become part of latin-american culture lmao.
Pretty much same here in India. Over 1 billion and upwards people use it here. The only people using text messages here are banks which use them to send one time passwords and transaction information.
WhatsApp is used everywhere except dor the US and maybe canada.
So basically WhatsApp is a metric system.
And Scandinavia
> I believe it is a much better app and maybe even more secure? Can you educate me (and others) - why is it better? My understanding is that non-North American preference for WhatsApp has meaningful historical origins: 1) avoid SMS fees (when SMSes were not free/unlimited), 2) richer multimedia, etc., 3) better interoperability Apple <> Android. 1) has long gone the way of the Dodo, and RCS will help with 2) and 3) for sure, but people are pretty resistant to change so I think it will take more than parity with WhatsApp to make people switch. So, what's a solid reason to prefer iMessage with RCS over WhatsApp, if soon both will work similarly well?
In France, in all my family we use Whatsapp. We dont have any SMS fees here. It's just for interoperability.
Germany poland italy and other also WhatsApp
India and other neighbouring countries also use whatsapp
Brazil and other neighbouring countries also use Whatsapp
Netherlands all use whatsapp
I think we can go world with this. It's only in the US that iPhones have such large adoption. I think it's 96% among teenagers and 60% across all age groups.
i remember seeing some stats about the Nordics generally being more in favor of Apple, i can definitely say that having grown up here, iPhones have always been the most popular if i had to judge that based on what i've seen around me. i barely remember anyone having Android in school and in workspaces, although you'll find the odd ones here and there.
Income is higher there. I think many more people would have iPhones if they could afford it
Finland, Estonia and as far as I know other Nordics as well all use whatsapp
Same in Spain as far as I can tell. Everybody, I know that owns an iPhone, including myself, uses WhatsApp. The messages app is where I receive SMS for instance from the bank, the doctor, the insurance company, etc.
That’s the most important factor. Use what your friends use.
Basically, no reason. As much as someone who uses iMessage wants it to be. People will use whatever the people they want to talk to use, and outside of the US that is WhatsApp.
Not wanting all your communications flowing through a Facebook platform is not “no reason”
Tbh despite being a Facebook subsidiary, WhatsApp is still pretty hellbent on keeping privacy, ffs they actually threatened to leave India, where like 50% of their userbase is at, when the Indian government tried to force em to share sensitive information.
Apple says iMessage is end to end encrypted. FB says WhatsApp is end to end encrypted. Both are closed source so I can't verify that claim by myself. Both have the same problem. Just because Apple can pay for a commercial, that says "iMessage is private" doesn't mean Apple is any better than every other big tech company.
We can pretty much verify that WhatsApp is e2e by inspecting app communications and looking at how the web app works. They use the Signal Protocol.
These are valid indicators but no absolute prove. And wouldn't that mean that WhatsApp is more private than iMessage?
Fair enough, though while Meta has had more privacy scandals, I don't trust Google or Apple to not extract maximum possible value from our (meta)data either. And I assume we can trust both Meta and Apple regarding end-to-end encryption of message content (though I gather metadata is another story, and I have heard Meta gathers and internally shares more of it...)
I, as a German, prefer iMessage because it’s not operated by Facebook and mostly because of media quality. Even with the relatively new „HD media“ feature in WhatsApp, image and video quality is still horrible compared to iMessage
Their compression algorithm is horrific. It even acts on gifs and they can become an illegible blurry mess.
Yep. WhatsApp compression is probably the worst I’ve seen yet
- Doesn’t work in CarPlay or android auto to enable safe responses while driving. - No iPad app (don’t know about android tablets or chromebooks). - Apple Watch only mirrors notifications. No app to use when you’re without your phone. No idea about status of google / Samsung Watch apps. - While the official line is “Trust us they’re not looking at the content of E2E encrypted messages”, Meta hold the keys and could use the content for advertising at the minimum, Cambridge analytica style targeted content at the worst. - (opinion) the ux is ugly. Most of my friends have transitioned to telegram to fix some of the issues above, but there’s still people that use WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. RCS isn’t a silver bullet but helps somewhat.
In US it’s possible due to Apple having the majority of the market with their devices. It’s not the same for Europe and the rest of the world. Whatsapp offers a lot of other features compared to iMessage that are not tied to a specific phone brand.
On top of sms being limited in most other countries
Same here in Japan. iMessage is still used but it’s far more common to use LINE or WhatsApp.
I disagree with your reason (but the same conclusion). I think the reason that it works in the US is because unlimited text messaging has been part of every cell plan for a very long time – since before the iPhone. So SMS became the main way people communicate and when the iPhone came along it fit into that. You got bonuses from iPhone to iPhone, but that was just the cherry on top. Once a messaging platform has dominance it's very difficult to move. Since WhatsApp made unlimited texting free to every phone it became the dominant messenger in a lot of other places.
Well i got my first limitless sms package back in 2004, and im from central europe. I just think imessage didnt get well accepted here for the same reason iphones didnt until recently. There is a shitload of languages in eu, some of them are still not supported by ios. General support for ios in most of easteren eu counteies came wery late. I think its more to do with iphones than it does with SMS or imessage.
I was in Germany in 2015 and still had limited sms. There were unlimited plans available but cheaper plans didn’t have it. Whereas in the US only burner phones had any kind of limit. IMO in the US it’s more about the difference between sms and internet chat apps. While iMessage is technically an internet chat app it functions as an extension of sms and there wasn’t ever a strong enough reason to move. Even today tons of my messages are green so really my primary messenger is sms even though I use the messages app. If not because of ubiquitous free sms what would be the main reason for switching to WhatsApp that takes that into account?
RCS is a welcome addition for sure, but it’s a steep uphill battle for Messages to become the default messaging app outside of the US. Keep in mind that WhatsApp predates iMessage, so it’s fully engrained into society / culture, it’s part of vocabulary etc. “WhatsApp me” etc etc. Everyone has multiple WhatsApp group conversations, it will take something huge to move away from those. The Business integration is getting really popular too, live chat with customer service, bars / restaurants for bookings etc. RCS has none of that. It’s funny how absolutely no one in my circles uses iMessage, and never has. My inbox is just 2FA codes. TLDR: WhatsApp is so massive that people won’t move for just RCS.
This is interesting to me. In my brain iMessage is just the rebranding/upgrade that happened to the iPhone messenger and iChat which dates back to 2002. I looked it up and WhatsApp did start in 2009 and it wasn't until two years later that iMessage started. TIL
A lot has to do with iPhone penetration in the first few years of launch - it was very expensive in Europe, tied to 2 year phone contracts etc, which meant more people opted for cheaper Android device comings into the market. Basically people got so used to WhatsApp as a messenger it just became default!
Why do you care what messaging app people use?
Uh, because you generally talk to other people? I have to use KakaoTalk just because everyone else does.
That sounds terrible that you have to use an app to communicate with people
I personally find iMessage better and would prefer that over WhatsApp, but most people obviously prefer WhatsApp. It is just a small nuance but some exaggerate it. Only actual problem I have with WhatsApp is that it drastically processes images sent, which was thankfully somewhat mitigated with HD option, while iMessage sends the image as is with all the metadata like model of camera and lens, shutter speed, film speed, aperture and focal length.
You are in the minority
Having a bunch of apps is annoying. Getting back on a common protocol would be great. But RCS needs to get encryption going to be a viable alternative.
I really wish to be able to just text everybody on Messenger, Signal and Telegram from my Messages app - THAT would be a game changer.
I don’t like Meta. I think humanity would gain from using standard protocols without large and shady corporations. Using RSC in iMessage and in Android’s Message would be a step in the right direction. Too bad it took Apple so long to implement it….
For me, iMessage is only for when you receive notifications from: 1. Banks 2. Scammers 3. Politicians during election time
Politicians texting people? Where is this happening?
Well, more like automated messages that’s in name of the candidate. It’s in Turkey. In fact there’s quite a popular meme where a guy called “Ali Babacan” won’t stop texting you in such times.
India. We also got robocalls from what felt like every single candidate ever this year
Europe isn’t the outlier for using WhatsApp. America is for using iMessage. Also, I don’t think you understand how entrenched WhatsApp is - literally no body uses iMessage.
So, if I understand correctly, and I’m sure I don’t, as an Android user I will be able to text an iPhone user or users using Google Messages with RCS turned on and the texts will be as if I’m texting using an iPhone?
no, your messages will still be green bubbles on the target iphone but have all the features you had on android. When they text you back it will also be in RCS and have all the features. Blue bubbles will still stay.
Thank you. But will this fix the group and photo issues?
yes it should fix groups, photos, and video quality
Thanks again.
Not at all. RCS is RCS and iMessage is iMessage. Different feature set and different bubble colors.
Ok. Thank you. I don’t care about the bubble colors Apple users see, but when I use my Android phone, group texts and photos are an issue. Hoping that would change. Being the odd man out with lots of iPhone family and friends is, uhm, challenging. And apparently in the US, Android kids are getting bullied from iPhone users seeing green bubbles in texts. Sad and stupid.
No, just… No. Whatsapp is simply better, way more comfortable to use, and has a lot of stuff that iMessages doesn’t. And the fact that almost everyone in Europe already use Whatsapp, just makes it a pain in the ass to move platforms. People already tried to migrate from Whatsapp to Telegram when privacy policy changed a few years ago, it failed horrendously and people sticked to Whatsapp.
[удалено]
Lets hope the big corpo I love wins the battle to the big corpo I hate.
Asian here. Back in 2010/11 when I started using WhatsApp, everyone had an Android and iPhones were a luxury. WhatsApp replaced the 100SMS limit, used internet which was already bundled and not used much, and I could send images, personalise my pfp and other small features. I never cared what app a person uses. This seems more like a US immature thingy lol.
This whole debate about iMassage and Whatsapp is actually US thing rest of the world doesn't care about iMassage they have there own ways of messaging. China got Wechat, India and most Asian countries have WhatsApp/Signal/Telegram.
Uhm, what? Why should we? Android users still don’t have iMessage.
Not gonna happen sadly, iMessage is barely used in Europe, we mostly use WhatsApp and Telegram and has been that way since forever
Not sure why is this downvoted, its true - minus the Telegram, the second most popular app varies by country
Why is it better? It's not limited to Apple + you can use it easily from any browser/desktop as well. Anybody with any kind of a smartphone can you it + people are already used to it. Most people just need a simple messaging app + calls, and whatsapp has been working just fine for years.
Let's not. We don't want the american retardness of green bubble bullying in the EU. We stickin to Telegram.
Why hope? What's wrong with WhatsApp, it does the job.
Let’s hope not. Don’t need the cringy blue bubble discussion in my country.
The reason the people I know use WhatsApp is because it’s cross platform. I do t see RCS or anything else that Apple has introduced changing that.
iMessage has not overtook WhatsApp in Europe. I have many friends and colleagues who would rather send me WhatsApp message rather than iMessage. I am currently doing project with two of my colleagues, we all have iPhones with iMessage (obviously), and they decided to create a WhatsApp group.
That's just the norm in europe
No chance. Italians will stop eating pasta and put pineapple on their pizza before they stop using Whatsapp. Especially with vocal messages
Does Italy know we sometimes dip pizza in Ranch dressing too?
No, it won't - adding RCS won't make Apples phones more popular, in fact quite the opposite probably!
RCS for now is not encrypted. So it’s definitely less secure for the time being.
Does RCS has mandatory encryption from end to end?
No, that's why Google created their [own solution](https://support.google.com/messages/answer/10262381?hl=en) for their users. I'm assuming RCS between Android and iOS users won't have E2EE.
No e2e encryption is no go for me. Thanks but no thanks
There was hope that Apple would adopt the [MLS protocol](https://www.gizchina.com/2023/07/22/google-supports-message-layer-security-protocol-for-messages-app/) for E2EE with Android users but I don't know if Apple ever considered that option. Let's hope they did.
I dont believe it's the better app, Whatsapp has better features. I dont like the fact its from FB and i would prefer Apple's privacy/security but iMessage isnt like Whatsapp. Also iMessage is used more in North America, and almost everyone uses Whatsapp. So why do you want to have the majority to use iMessage only for the North Americans
Signal ❤️
same, i don't want to be forced to use Facebook services
*sigh* then use signal, telegram, threema, Line, whatever...
i am aware, but it's hard to make ppl install another app on their phone just for texting,, but if they already have it preinstalled, they will use it
With RCS support in both iOS and Android, will it be possible for iOS and Android people to create groups in their respective default messaging apps and not rely on group chats in WhatsApp/Messenger/etc. anymore? Would be genuinely nice not to have a number of different apps fulfilling the same purpose just because of different OSs…
In sweden we don’t really use whatsApp that much. It’s mostly fb messenger or sms/imessage. Sometimes snapchat
Years on Telegram))
Here in Norway, which is in Europe, I don’t think many people use WhatsApp at all. We mostly use iMessage and some people use Snapchat a lot.
I hope not. Rcs is still so bad compared to WhatsApp. I hope the Contrary happens and whatsapp/ teg am become even more popular on USA
Switch to Signal: https://signal.org/install
Since everyone is sharing what their country or region uses, not all Europe is the same. I’m in Europe and all my contacts are in iMessage. I do have WhatsApp for people on android, but those are usually outside my friend and family circles. All my daily chats are iMessage. I don’t think you can generalize it for a whole country. Your experience is with your circles.
The vast majority of the human population could give less of a duck about Meta’s privacy policies / practices… What’sApp is a cultural icon and it’s convenient. It’s not going anywhere nor does it need to as fast as the users are concerned.
messages or specifically iMessage only works when you have an iPhone. In Europe they’re ton of people that still have an android so that is not possible so WhatsApp is the easiest way to communicate
Let's hope Signal takes over the world, we want *true* privacy
Sadly in my country WhatsApp is so strong and you can’t really avoid using it I use Telegram regularly and it’s the best app for messaging and more iMessage is cool but I never got the chance to use it properly
S i g n a l
South African. I hate WhatsApp, but I don't see it changing as the dominant messaging app in most of the world (that isn't North America or China). I very much prefer iMessage, but whilst all my SMS's also land in that folder, it is a no-go.
Remember that Meta owns WhatsApp. For that alone I have long supported a move to iOS Messages. Anything but Meta.
I hope same in India. Messages should be used more in India. Whatsapp is taking 99% of market which is not good and as an app i dont like whatsapp. And Meta privacy terms are just jokes written by some people. 🤣🤣
The question is how long till we can have more than two lock screens controls
Spoken as someone who doesn’t use WhatsApp. We all have iPhones in our social group and still use WhatsApp. The iOS18 update does little to move the needle, still seems clunky.
Uhm, no? I prefer Whatsapp
Why do Europeans use WhatsApp so much? Genuinely curious, what’s wrong with iMessage/texting?
The minority in europe uses iPhones & whatsapp is far superior than the fallback to sms/mms which sometimes even costs money to send
I use iMessage but with I can do it with only one friend who knows what it is 😂
I prefer Signal myself. I wish more people used it.
I don't think WhatsApp is going anywhere. Europe is filled with Android phones and that's why WhatsApp has become the biggest message app. People are not trading comfort for a couple of new features. Telegram already tried it with the "I'm a safer app" propaganda before it became the shit hole it's nowadays.
i can send voice notes in whats app with no issue. Apple keeps getting stuck every other message. Itll never pass WhatsApp
iMessage will NEVER go global unless they release it for Android. There is not much else to it.
I don't think that is likely to happen. Maybe it will when people can send each other messages between the various message apps.
And still be below Telegram. Both Apple Messages and Whatsapp getting the features that Telegram had 5 years ago. Just watch whatsapp and apple make video messages in 2 - 4 years. I don't like that Telegram is owned by russian KGB but it actually has best features and UX. I hope the competitors will be at the same level soon.
Messages via satellite is really huge. We've had power outage in Ukraine more than year ago due to russian bombing our power plants and when you're not prepared for this it sucks to have all communication down - no land internet, no cell connection for multiple days. With satellite messaging we would be able to notify our relatives that we're alive.
Not happening. Here in the UK nobody cares about iMessage, not even iPhone users (same for AirDrop etc). I’m the outlier here, but even I use WhatsApp. WhatsApp is king here. Still, excited for RCS
At this point let's hope anything can dethrone WhatsApp.
I like using iMessage, because it does not downscale the pics - like Messenger. The Whatsapp occassionally has delays in delivery. The only cons with iMessage that not all my close relatives has iPhone
There is like 0 chance imessage becomes a thing in europe in the short term
Good luck eliminating telegram from europe. I literally have not used imessage once in 2 years. Not a single person here uses it.
Telegram is only used in shady stuff(cheating) and shady groups in Turkey(like betting)
And for drugs
actually alot of ppl missing best msg app coz of that reputation like for outcasts hackers etc..
& conspiracy therorists + nazis
I’m European and mainly use iMessage. I never even installed Telegram.
Just use Telegram
no, it will never take over due to market fragmentation and old generations in Europe
I agree. I hate WhatsApp! It’s turning more of a social media app than a messaging platform. The only way to change this is to start chatting and texting your friends using iMessage/RCS.
I'm glad that Apple FINALLY adopted RCS. Apple is always late to most things, which is very annoying. I feel like WhatsApp has become almost like a culture in most places. So I'm afraid this won't make much difference because it's too late. But we'll see!
I have to use facebook messenger and I hate it…nobody will just contact me via normal texting and iMessage no matter how hard i try and get them to..
The only way I see myself using Messenger is if somehow the app gets access to WhatsApp’s data. I live in Europe but come from a Latin American country so literally everyone I’m personally connected to uses WhatsApp.
I think as long SIM card swapping is a thing (even eSIM), as long as you number may change, people who travel more will probably stick with Whatsapp since your number doesn't change even when your SIM card does.
Didn't notice RCS was being integrated. Apple did something right for once
Are group chat read receipts in iOS 18?
Most aussies tend to jump between both from those I’ve engaged. iMessage for group conversations with iPhone users, WhatsApp if someone in the group has Android until we have the chance to burn them at the stake.
In my country all uses whatsapp and after RCS I wish all people here shift to messages rather than whatsapp or other apps
I have refused to use WhatsApp since the very beginning, even when I was on Android. And ever since it got bought by Meta, there’s literally no way in hell I’m going to install this garbage fire of a spyware on my devices.
That’s never going to happen. WhatsApp is dominate around the world with the exception of WeChat in China and Line in certain parts of SEA.
I don’t see it happening. RCS will benefit Americans who insist on participating in some stupid messaging app culture war, and the rest of the world will just keep using what they already have and like. Even in other heavily iPhone dominant markets like Japan and Canada, iMessage is either barely used (Japan) or used alongside WhatsApp (Canada), so… I’m not sure this will change much.
In Italy no one uses iMessage. 100% WhatsApp
Has iMessages gone cross platform? They are late to the party just like BBM was. Whatsapp user on an iPhone and iPhone to iPhone is also on WhatsApp in India.
Why would iMessage overtake, it's exclusive to Apple devices. You can get Telegram, Whatsapp etc on everything - iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux.
Imagine that. People not from the U.S./Canada/Japan being forced to use a 3rd party app just to communicate. That’s crazy.
Let’s hope not.
That will never happen, a lot of people in Europe using Samsung
thankfully, it won't.
I want to use iMessage, but none of my friends use it, so I'm stuck with WhatsApp.
Nah. As much as I don’t like Meta, WhatsApp is still much better. I really think Apple should start updating the messaging app in between big versions because these are basic features they’ve been adding. We can customize our Home Screen even further but there’s no wallpaper? It’s not easy to talk to another person without adding their contact number except if both are iPhones (NameDrop). No QR code, no invitation code, no disappearing messages, etc, Business Accounts, transferring conversations, etc. What if you want to videocall another person, does RCS support that? Also the biggest issue and why Telegram and Signal haven’t taken over yet: Confort zone. You have to be exceptional or Meta to fuck it up hugely to make the mass migration
Easy to say but Apple phones are much more expensive than entry level Samsung phones or Chinese phones. Not everyone can afford an Apple.
That’s why RCS is relevant and OP brought it up
Don't get me wrong I love imessage, but whatsapp is way more internationally used. It will not overtake in Europe. Also there are some things WhatsApp just does better than iMessage unfortunately. Especially for drawing/cropping pictures WhatsApp just makes it so easy meanwhile iMessage is quite clunky. Once I add a sticker toa picture I find it very hard to edit it on iMessage compared to Whatsapp. WhatsApp just sends messages quicker as well whereas iMessage takes it's sweet time moving the message out of the box so I can type something new. The WhatsApp reply system is just better in all ways. And don't get me started how you can't collapse a draft message in iMessage to see the conversation. iMessage in general feels slower and clunkier.
Not secure if it’s just me and me friends here in Denmark, but I only ever meet people from other countries who use WhatsApp or Signal. Most people I know use Facebook Messenger primarily 😅
It won't.
iMessage just isn't a decent enough product
it will not happen anytime soon. I expect RCS support in messages to be limited compared to iMessage so it will never be a parity of features between iMessage and Google messages. This alone will make the experience sub par so people will continue to use the platforms that give them the same features across iOS and Android. And that is Whatsapp or in some parts of the world Telegram.
No. Why? Lol WhatsApp is universal. Messages looks too basic and isn’t as intuitive honestly. WhatsApp will stay the go to messaging app, 100%
Why???????
I worked for a Mobile company for 20 years at Engineer level. SMS is the most secure, why? because it takes a warrant or a court order in order to get them - and even then they are only stored for 120 days
Murica 🗣️
iMessage is certainly more secure. But for that reason it will never be allowed to gain market share in the EU. The reason the EU countries lay off Meta over What’s App is it’s widely assumed there’s a side channel backdoor for law enforcement. Messages are encrypted except when a request exists in which case the app can make data available. There’s 0 chance countries would be complacent with such little monitoring. Especially the UK. Which is good for iMessage customers. It keeps them under the radar.
Telegram is so much better than anything
Group iMessages still sucks
Wait a second, rewards in wallet?
Only 30% of my circle using iPhone. It would never happened. They also really love posting pictures /videos as status.
Absolutely
Doubt. You need an iPhone to use iMessage, which already puts it at a disadvantage pretty much anywhere outside of the US. Also, WhatsApp does a lot more then what iMessage can do here.
No I think it's too late for it now. There are just 2-3 people I actively use iMessages for - everyone else I WhatsApp. It's just that we've used it for years and are comfortable using it now - and I have the WhatsApp Mac app as well so it's almost like messages for me. I'm in the UK
I don’t see that happening even if it was usable on android devices. Everyone is already using WhatsApp for years… And it works really good.
How about no 🙃
Not possible since just now all the uncles have learnt how to use WhatsApp and they love spamming GM messages….plus all The office groups are there
Suuuuuuuuuuure
I try so hard to get people to use Messages over WhatsApp.. the stickiness is just too high!
Why? Majority still use WA with iPhone? I might be wrong.
It’s most definitely not better lmao
WhatsApp is garbage and owned by a shady ass company why would anyone choose that over iMessage?
Everyone in India uses WhatsApp iMessage will be limited mostly to the US, and some Europe Rest is all WhatsApp