Apple’s proprietary technology has allowed the brand to grow over these years and not worry about rivals. Their watches aren’t compatible with Android, neither is their video call app… and the same goes for their iMessage application.
Apple’s refusal to make iMessage compatible with non-branded devices has long frustrated Google, Meta, telecom providers, and many users. In the United States, where 83% of young people have an iPhone, iMessage is key to expanding as a brand.
Nothing, a very young brand founded by Carl Pei, the creator of One Plus, claims to have found a solution, making its latest phone the first non-Apple product to send encrypted messages to iPhone users. It doesn’t support all iMessages features yet, but the company is working on it.
Owners of the new Nothing Phone (2) in the US, Canada, UK, and the EU can now test a new service that allows the Android phone to send encrypted messages and other advanced functions to iMessage users on Apple devices.
Nothing seems to have overcome a barrier that Google, Meta, and other companies are trying to fight in court.
How to access iMessage from your Nothing Phone 2
Users from participating regions can access the new service, called Nothing Chat, by signing up for the beta and logging in with an Apple ID.
Messages sent from the app display as blue bubbles on Apple devices and support end-to-end encryption, group chats, indicators to show when someone is typing, high-resolution media sharing, and voice notes, with read receipts and reactions coming soon. Nothing Chat will also be available in other regions.
The web and Android chat company Sunbird provided the backend for the project. Nothing assures users that their partner’s servers never store messages or Apple credentials and that messages are only retrievable on end devices. Additionally, Sunbird accounts are deleted after two weeks of inactivity.
The novelty lies in the fact that text messages from Android phones appear on Apple devices as green bubbles and lack advanced features like encryption, read receipts, group chats, etc. This is because Apple restricts its messaging service, iMessage, to iPhones, iPads, and Macs, while messages from other devices revert to SMS or MMS.
It’s not clear how Apple will react to the possibility of an external company offering full interaction between Android and iOS phones. Nothing’s CEO, Carl Pei, anticipates a response from Apple, but we don’t yet know what it will be.
