The European Union (EU) may not force Apple to make iMessage interoperable with Android and other platforms. The regulatory body doesn’t find the iPhone’s messaging app big enough to subject it under the new Digital Markets Act (DMA). A decision is yet to be made but it looks like iMessage will remain exclusive to Apple users for the foreseeable future.
EU considers exempting iMessage from the DMA regulations
iMessage is an instant messaging app developed by Apple for its products. It offers all the modern features that are found in other cross-platform apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram. However, the lack of interoperability with Android means users messaging from one platform to the other missed out on those features. Direct text messaging between Android and iOS relies on the age-old SMS standard.
Moreover, iMessage distinguishes Android users in group chats with green bubbles for messages (blue bubbles for messages sent from iPhones). Google has been vocal against this practice and wanted Apple to end it. One of the ways to do that is by making iMessage work on Android. That would have been possible if the EU had put the app under its DMA regulations, which subject tech companies and products to interoperability, fairness, and privacy rules.
The EU has already subjected Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store to the DMA. Android, iOS, and Windows operating systems, Chrome and Safari browsers, messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, video platforms like YouTube and TikTok, and online ad services from Google, Amazon, and Meta are also subjected to the new regulations in Europe.
Google and European carriers wanted regulators to cover iMessage too, which has 45 million monthly active users in the region. They argued that the app should fall under the DMA as a “gatekeeper service” because Apple ships it pre-installed on every iPhone around the world. However, people familiar with the matter have told Bloomberg that iMessage may get an exemption.
The European watchdogs reportedly don’t see Apple’s messaging app as a gatekeeper service. A preliminary investigation didn’t find it “popular enough with business users” to warrant DMA regulations. The investigation will conclude in February 2024, so there is still plenty of time to go before the final decision. However, as things stand, Apple may maintain iMessage’s exclusivity to its products.
Apple will adopt RCS next year
Thankfully, Apple won’t limit cross-platform messaging between Android and iOS to the SMS standard for much longer. It has pledged support for RCS on iPhones. RCS is an evolution over SMS and is already adopted widely by Android OEMs and carriers. It offers modern features such as read receipts, typing indicators, and more. With RCS on iPhones, those features will be available to both parties when messaging between Android and iOS devices.
Unfortunately, even RCS won’t solve the green bubble-blue bubble thing created by Apple, unless it decides to end this practice. Whether it ever does that, only time will tell. Meanwhile, the Beeper and Beeper Mini apps have already brought iMessage to Android. These third-party apps offer all modern features and remove the green bubbles, making direct text messaging between iPhones and Android more fun and inclusive.