Apple Exec Eddy Cue Wanted To Bring iMessage Onto Android

During the legal proceedings in the Epic VS Apple case, it was revealed that Apple had rejected the idea of bringing iMessage to Android. According to the emails sent amongst Apple executives, the idea of iMessage on Android would essentially remove one more reason that customers should buy an iPhone over Android.

However, it seems that not everyone felt the same. According to more details that have since been unearthed, it turns out that Apple exec Eddy Cue was one of the few who actually wanted iMessage on Android. This is according to an email exchange between Cue and Craig Federighi where Cue suggested that not bringing iMessage to Android would cause Apple to “lose one of the most important apps in a mobile environment to Google”.

According to Cue, “We really need to bring iMessage to Android. I have had a couple of people investigating this but we should go full speed and make this an official project.” He adds that bringing iMessage to Android could help Apple set a new industry standard. Federighi’s email follows up with some questions on how they would be able to convince Android users to switch to iMessage, especially if they don’t necessarily have friends who use iOS.

While we doubt that we will ever see the day iMessage arrives for Android, especially with Google pushing for RCS, it is interesting to learn that at one point in time, it might have been a possibility.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: Android, imessage, iOS