News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by puttycat on Sunday November 06, 2022 @10:54PM (#33500942)
Yep. It's interesting how uniform the US messaging mesh is (practically everyone on iMessage). An average American's chance of having Whatsapp installed on their phone is a function of how likely they are to have contacts from abroad.
Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by int_19h on Sunday November 06, 2022 @11:11PM (#33501038)
The actual market share for Apple in US mobile market is around 50%, so even if every single one of those use iMessage exclusively, there are still plenty of people locked out of it. If you don't have any in your social circles, that's probably due to the nature of those circles.
Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by dagmx on Monday November 07, 2022 @12:30AM (#33501571)
~50% overall but something like 87% for teens. That discrepancy in numbers is really going to be interesting within a generation or two.
Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by kweingar on Monday November 07, 2022 @01:03AM (#33501768)
> within a generation or two

Not sure I agree. A generation or two is eons in tech. In that timeframe there will likely be another massive paradigm shift that totally washes away today’s thinking about phones, communication, etc.

Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by dagmx on Monday November 07, 2022 @01:08AM (#33501797)
That’s assuming however that the paradigm shifts are sudden or that Apple can’t adapt.

Their existing market dominance among teens positions them very strongly to keep brand loyalty into whatever paradigms come next.

Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by Spivak on Monday November 07, 2022 @09:00AM (#33505843)
Everyone makes this mistake. Something being popular with young people is no guarantee it will remain popular as they grow up. The social pressures that lead teens to want iPhones drop off over time.
Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by dagmx on Monday November 07, 2022 @11:19AM (#33507826)
Nobody said there was a guarantee it would stick to the same percentages as they grow, but brand loyalty is definitely a thing for people that develops in their formative years.

It’s also not just “social pressures to use iPhones” but the fact that parents can:

* give them hand me downs due to longer device lifespans

* the ability to get them more easily serviced when their kid breaks something by going to the Apple Store

* the ability to more easily buy a decent midrange device on a student discount

* the ability to communicate more easily themselves using iMessage

* appealing to privacy and safety in Apple marketing

People over index on social pressure from other teens. There’s lots of reasons teens get devices and many come from parental choices.

Maybe the percentages will vary as they grow but any company worth their salt is paying attention to the possibly high rate of market drop off that they’ll experience

Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by Telemakhos on Sunday November 06, 2022 @11:13PM (#33501051)
Both are American companies. Whatsapp is Meta (Facebook), and iMessage (actually now Messages) is Apple. If you care about security, the question is which is more likely to comply with the US government's requests for information: Meta or Apple. If you don't, the question is price point, ignoring the question of which is more likely to make your data marketable. That is likely Meta, so we could rephrase this as, "Do you care to pay more for Apple's privacy, or is it okay for Meta to sell your messages to anyone willing to pay?"
Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by sfifs on Sunday November 06, 2022 @11:39PM (#33501231)
There's Line, Kakao Talk, Viber, WeChat, SnapChat... all very popular in different countries & with different demographics. WeChat is of course the most sophisticated in terms of ecosystem beyond just messaging.

None of these may have arisen or become so popular if Apple & Android had created interop.

Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by nine_k on Sunday November 06, 2022 @11:44PM (#33501259)
I wonder how Telegram was not mentioned in the thread so far.
Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by batiudrami on Sunday November 06, 2022 @11:58PM (#33501363)
Telegram is orders of magnitude smaller than any of the those listed above, except maybe a Viber (I’m not sure; it seems to have some use in SEA countries).
Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by fomine3 on Monday November 07, 2022 @12:05AM (#33501406)
Is Snapchat used like them among every generation?
Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by Un1corn on Monday November 07, 2022 @01:00AM (#33501755)
As always, it's important to remember that people choice of messaging depends on network effect more than anything else.

But even without it, they are both E2E encrypted. Of course you could ship new code that send the messages unencrypted but it would be extremely risky for Meta and the government, depending on the target

Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by glandium on Sunday November 06, 2022 @11:05PM (#33501010)
If they have contacts in East Asia, they won't have Whatsapp either.
Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by rootsudo on Sunday November 06, 2022 @11:07PM (#33501015)
China, no. Wechat. Japan, no. Line. S. Korea, no - Kakaotalk. South East Asia: Whatsapp, yes.

It is interesting.

Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by alephnerd on Sunday November 06, 2022 @11:36PM (#33501203)
Vietnam: Zalo or FB Messenger, not WhatsApp
Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by tuankiet65 on Sunday November 06, 2022 @11:32PM (#33501173)
SEA is a bit more diverse than just Whatsapp.

Vietnam: Facebook Messenger, Zalo (home grown IM), Viber.

Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by gcanyon on Sunday November 06, 2022 @11:19PM (#33501092)
Thailand: Line.
Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by threeseed on Sunday November 06, 2022 @11:35PM (#33501191)
Thailand also heavily use WhatsApp as well.
Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by biztos on Monday November 07, 2022 @02:06AM (#33502148)
Also Messenger.
Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by gcanyon on Monday November 07, 2022 @12:21PM (#33508886)
Yep, definitely. I just know when I moved there one of the first things I was told was "install Line" and I got to smile and say "I've had line for years." (because I collect social apps for fun)
Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by spacehunt on Monday November 07, 2022 @12:59AM (#33501748)
Except for Hong Kong, where most people have Whatsapp + at least one of Telegram, Signal, Line, Wechat.
Re:Apple Execs on iMessage for Android (2013) by pjmlp on Monday November 07, 2022 @02:35AM (#33502402)
And on the Balkans region most likely will be Viber.