How to use Apple iMessage with an Android smartphone?
What is iMessage?
iMessage is Apple’s messaging service, deployed on all iOS devices: iPhone, Mac, iPad… It has been available since 2011 with the arrival ofiOS5 and has become a popular tool over the years. This messenger is also one of the first to have offered the sending of texts, videos and audios in a secure channel as well as the reaction to messages. The small interactions that have become common on Messenger, WhatsApp and other services have therefore begun their adventure on iOS!
‘Beeper’ app from Pebble founder brings your chat apps into one place, iMessage on Android too https://t.co/lpsPGppAVq by @NexusBen
— 9to5Mac (@9to5mac) January 21, 2021
Main disadvantage of iMessage: the application is only accessible on Apple devices. The Californian firm has always refused to open up the service to other systems, favoring better synergy between its products. Google has been pushing for several years for Apple to integrate the RCS (Rich Communication Services) protocol into its service to simplify communication between an Android device and an iOS device. Moreover, on an Apple mobile, the SMS sent by an Android device appear with green and not blue bubbles to stand out.
iMessage on Android: it’s possible!
To use iMessage from your Windows PC or your Android smartphone, there is still a solution! Since 2021, an application has created a bold path to open access to messaging. Named Beeper, it consists of a hub centralizing the messages of all the services used. From this center, you will find your Messenger, Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp communications… But also iMessage, thanks to servers running with the Apple environment to run the application remotely.
If it is a paid service, on the invitation of another user, there remains a main defect which is that of data security. Indeed, to use Beeper, you will have to go through the application servers, which is a hub and not an end-to-end messaging system. So goodbye to the encryption of information, even if the developers guarantee that they have put in place all the provisions to secure users.
Apple @ Work: iMessage could be a strong business communication tool if Apple expanded it to other platformshttps://t.co/pGGFQGUhjw
Thanks to @JamfSoftware for sponsorship!
— 9to5Mac (@9to5mac) October 29, 2022
If Beeper comes with its flaws, this messaging system remains the best solution for using iMessage on a device other than Apple (in the meantime Sunbird, still in beta…). Things would be simpler if the Cupertino company opened its floodgates to make its terminals compatible with the competition. But Apple wouldn’t be Apple without its excessive tendency to ostracize.
