Beeper reverse-engineered iMessage to bring blue bubble texts to Android users | TechCrunch
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The push to bring iMessage to Android users today adds a new contender. A startup called Beeper, which had been working on a multi-platform messaging

Beeper reverse-engineered iMessage to bring blue bubble texts to Android users::The push to bring iMessage to Android users today adds a new contender. A startup called Beeper, which had been working on a multi-platform messaging

  • pizza_the_hutt@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    11 months ago

    The issue isn’t so much the message color. It’s the ability to send videos that aren’t potato quality and other media.

    • gregorum@lemm.eeEnglish
      0·
      11 months ago

      oh, can’t android users receive high-quality videos and photos? after 16 years of smartphones, you’d think they’d have that figured out…

      • Mountaineer@aussie.zoneEnglish
        0·
        11 months ago

        It’s not the android side that’s failing, it’s Apples refusal to implement anything other than SMS for cross ecosystem compatibility.

        • mike805@fosstodon.org
          0·
          11 months ago

          @Mountaineer @gregorum Apple is going to implement RCS, the EU put pressure on them.

          However I am surprised that Beeper was able to do this in software. With everyone else using an Apple device as a proxy, I figured the protocol required a magic handshake from the TPM chip in an Apple device. That would be easy to do.

          • Mountaineer@aussie.zoneEnglish
            0·
            11 months ago

            There’s some gotchas in Apples statement:

            They have promised to implement “RCS Universal Profile”
            This means the bare minimum, not the advanced features implemented by Google and Samsung etc.
            An example of a missing feature from Universal Profile is end to end encryption.

            They also said: “This will work alongside iMessage, which will continue to be the best and most secure messaging experience for Apple users.”
            The implication of this is that it won’t be in the iMessage app, it will be in a separate but official app, siloing your Android friends from your iPhone friends.

            When this comes out, every European is going to shrug and keep using Whatsapp.

            • creed10@lemmy.worldEnglish
              0·
              11 months ago

              what? that’s not the implication at all. it’ll work just like SMS does now. same app, just RCS instead of SMS

              • Mountaineer@aussie.zoneEnglish
                0·
                11 months ago

                it’ll work just like SMS does now

                I agree with this part of your statement 100%.
                It will work POORLY.

                Whether it’s in the same app or simply a different colour like SMS is currently, it’ll be a half assed implementation, designed to segregate your iphone and android friends.

                Got an existing iphone group chat? Bet you can’t add an RCS participant to it.
                Create a new RCS group chat so you can include everyone? Bet it’s missing features that you’d get in imessage.
                Receive a high resolution video from a friend via imessage? Forward that to another friend via RCS and they’ll receive 5 blurry pixels.

                And throughout all of this, apple will blame the RCS protocol and say “We’re actively working with GSMA to improve RCS”.

                No one trusts apple for the very simple reason that they have a habit of saying the quiet part out loud: Tim Cook Says ‘Buy Your Mom An iPhone’