As part of the ongoing leven battle between Fortnite creator Epic and Apple, new information has come to light confirming the most annoying of it Apple’s iMessage app: that Apple could make a cross-platform version of iMessage for Android phones, but it won’t because it would be bad for business.
This information comes from testimonials that appear in Epic’s briefing to Apple, which was recently posted on RedditThe document includes several statements from well-known Apple executives describing the reasons why Apple never created a cross-platform version of iMessage for Android devices.
In a 2013 quote, Eddy Cue, who is now Apple’s senior vice president for Internet software and services, said that Apple “could have made a version [of iMessage] on Android running with iOS, “enabling” users of both platforms to exchange messages seamlessly with each other. “
Sadly, it seems that multiple Apple executives were concerned that it would become too easy for iPhone owners to leave the Apple ecosystem, with Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, that said, “iMessage on Android should just serve to delete [an] obstacle for iPhone families to give their children Android phones ”—a sentiment that was also shared, according to Epic Phil Schiller, who at the time was in charge of overseeing Apple’s App Store.
It seems these sentiments have been known to Apple for quite some time. The letter describes a 2016 comment from a former Apple employee who said, “the No. 1 of the hardest [reason] to leave the apple universe app is iMessage … iMessage amounts to a serious lock-in, “with Schiller confirming the comment, saying,” moving iMessage to Android will hurt us more than help us, this email illustrates why. “
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The most depressing thing about these statements is that it removes any doubt that Apple could create an Android version of iMessage if it wanted, but it isn’t because Apple is more concerned about potentially making it easier for its customers to build its ecosystem. which has resulted in a needlessly fragmented messaging ecosystem and the feeling that Apple is using fabricated exclusivity to hold long-term iMessage users hostage.
While these testimonials seem pretty damning to Apple, it’s unfortunately unclear whether these revelations will force Apple to reconsider porting iMessage to Android in the future. But at least now we know for sure why it never happened before.