The lawsuit between Epic Games and Apple shed light on the iPhone owner’s strategy with respect to his famous iMessage app: Apple considered bringing messaging to Android and didn’t because it wanted to tie its customers to the iPhone..
iOS and Android are two mobile operating systems that have more in common than differences; without this allowing compatibility between the two, as those who remain well know linked to one or other of the platforms only for their applications. And iMessage, the native iPhone messaging service, is largely to blame since, not being found on Android, Apple device owners have to dock on their iPhone if they want to send them from their mobile. It is not an informal strategy.
Keeping iMessage on iOS forces you to stay on iPhone, that’s Apple’s strategy
The judgment between Epic Games and Apple has intensified since the first report the second after Fortnite incident with the App Store. Epic included a parallel payment system to bypass Apple’s commission; the Apple company kicked out the developer; the creators of Fortnite sued Apple over commission clauses and eliminating competition. During the various processes, we witness a large number of confessions, such as the last dedicated to Messages and Android.
iMessage is an exclusive messaging platform for iOS and will continue until the judges decide otherwise. What we didn’t know was that Apple seriously considered multiplying so that Android and iPhone users can exchange messages. There is no technological limitation for this, just a purely marketing decision on Apple’s part.
According to the documentation of the lawsuit held by Epic Games and Apple, the Apple company iMessage extension to Android was raised in 2013. While this move was feasible, Apple rejected it because, according to an email response from Phill Schiller himself (Apple’s chief marketing officer), making iMessage cross-platform ‘it would do them more harm than good“.
iMessage never had technological limits when it came to crossing messages between iPhone and Android: the decision not to make cross-platform messaging was always monetary
Apple has always been aware that its messaging platform is a very effective retention weapon for its customers. Since iMessage is extremely popular with families, that they have the obligation to use Apple devices significantly increases the sales volume
“iMessage on Android would simply serve to remove a barrier for iPhone families to give Android phones to their children.”
Since parents with iPhones want to communicate with their children and the former use Messages by default on their phones, Only by buying an iPhone for the little ones will the family retain the possibility of communicating with each other.. This Apple strategy would demonstrate one of the principles on which Epic Games bases its defense: the elimination of competition.
If Apple saw no obstacle in bringing its Music or TV + service to Android, why not do the same with iMessage? Surely because the two multimedia platforms they are not as able to connect users to iPhone.
Via | The edge
