Google Engineer Claims iMessage For Android Won’t Support SMS

Apple for the most part has kept its own apps and services to itself, creating a feeling of exclusivity to entice users to come over to their macOS or iOS platforms. One of those exclusive features was iMessage, although we had heard rumors that Apple was apparently considering bringing it over to Android.

Now according to Justin Uberti, who is the co-lead on Allo, Google’s new chat app, he claims that if iMessage ever does come to Android, it won’t have the SMS feature. He writes, “If iMessage ever comes to Android, I guarantee it will not have SMS.” We’re not sure why Uberti thinks that way, but even if there is no SMS support, that probably wouldn’t have been the draw of the app to begin with.

Apple has greatly revamped the way iMessage works in iOS 10. Prior to that iMessage was just another messaging service exclusive to iOS and macOS users. But in iOS 10, Apple has made the app more “fun” by introducing stickers, the ability to send doodles, as well as use third-party apps to play games, make dinner reservations, and more.

However given how many messaging apps there are available on both platforms, we’re not sure if there would be a reason for Android users to ever adopt iMessage. That being said, the earlier rumor did say that Apple were creating mockups which isn’t necessarily a guarantee of its release, but if it does get released, would the lack of SMS support put you off from using it?

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones, Rumors
Tags: Android, Apps, Google, imessage, iOS