I was just reading a post titled “On iMessage’s Stickiness” from Apple pundit John Gruber, published last evening on his Daring Fireball blog, and stumbled upon an interesting passage alleging that Apple’s created several mockups of iMessage for Android.
One of the mockups of iMessage for Android reportedly looks like a carbon copy of its iOS counterpart, with another one based on Google’s Material Design guidelines.
“I’ve heard from little birdies that mockups of iMessage for Android have circulated within the company, with varying UI styles ranging from looking like the iOS Messages app to pure Material Design,” reads the post.
MacDailyNews started the iMessage for Android rumor earlier this year.
The report claimed Apple would announce an Android edition of the iMessage service at WWDC 2016. WWDC came and went without any mention of iMessage for Android.
The new report from Gruber suggests that Apple has at least explored the idea before ultimately choosing to abandon or delay iMessage for Android.
Naysayers could say that Steve Jobs promised to turn FaceTime into an open standard that would be supported by carriers and device makers, which never came to be.
“I don’t think we’re ever actually going to see FaceTime as an open standard,” wrote Gruber. “But I think the sentiment that drove Jobs to want it to be an open standard applies to the idea of releasing iMessage for Android. Apple doesn’t need to rely on platform-exclusive lock-in.”
Apple Music for Android has a Material Design feel to it so I’m not surprised that Apple was considering giving iMessage for Android the same look and feel as many other Android apps built around Material Design.
What’s your opinion on iMessage for Android?
Would Apple be better off releasing iMessage for Android or should the service remain exclusive to iOS device as a crucial part of iMessage’s stickiness?
Source: Daring Fireball