It appears that iMessage on Android considered a possibility for years. The new argument comes from Epic Games’ filings against Apple, in which the two firms are involved in a high-profile legal battle. One of the key points posed by Epic in his argument that Apple uses protection as a “pretext” to hold users inside its walled garden, thus forcing developers in its ecosystem to pay them a hefty commission, was the presence of iMessage on Android – or the lack thereof, amid repeated rumors over the years. The court’s decision also backs up reports that Apple was considering making its messaging ecosystem a cross-platform tool.
“Apple decided not to develop a version of iMessage for the Android OS,” according to the court filing. It was possible that Android and iOS users would be able to communicate with each other via iMessage’s cross-platform compatibility. Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, who oversees the growth of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, completely disagreed. According to the filings, “iMessage on Android will simply serve to remove [an] obstacle to iPhone families giving their kids Android phones.”
Phil Schiller, Apple’s executive in charge of the App Store, agreed, saying that iMessage should not be launched on iOS. Schiller was also quoted in 2016 as saying, “Moving iMessage to Android will hurt us more than help us, as this email illustrates why.”
Although there has been no mention of iMessage coming to Android, these comments shed light on why it hasn’t happened and why it will never happen. With RCS, Google has attempted to offer Android users an iMessage-like experience, but the ecosystem is far behind Apple’s.