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Re:U.S. sues Apple, accusing it of maintaining an iPhone mon... by dagmx on Thursday March 21, 2024 @11:37AM (#39779910)
Security: there’s no cross platform E2E messaging standard they could have adopted. Given that the DoJ is already breathing down their neck for working with Google on search, using Google’s RCS extensions and servers might also be problematic.

I don’t think the government could force them to adopt RCS without new legislation or bring iMessage to other platforms.

Re:U.S. sues Apple, accusing it of maintaining an iPhone mon... by afavour on Thursday March 21, 2024 @11:42AM (#39779997)
> there’s no cross platform E2E messaging standard they could have adopted.

Could they not have made their own? I don't think they'd be required to use open standards for the argument to be made, they just need to release an iMessage app for Android.

Re:U.S. sues Apple, accusing it of maintaining an iPhone mon... by bink on Thursday March 21, 2024 @11:50AM (#39780147)
It seems weird to force a company to support their competitors products if there is no financial interest in them doing so.
Re:U.S. sues Apple, accusing it of maintaining an iPhone mon... by input_sh on Thursday March 21, 2024 @12:18PM (#39780602)
But they already do support Android to some extent. Apple Music (don't know if you can subscribe via the Android app), Shazam, and an AirTag detector are all already available.
Re:U.S. sues Apple, accusing it of maintaining an iPhone mon... by dagmx on Thursday March 21, 2024 @01:54PM (#39782035)
The point is “are they forced to do so”
Re:U.S. sues Apple, accusing it of maintaining an iPhone mon... by metabagel on Thursday March 21, 2024 @12:09PM (#39780469)
It seems weird to degrade their own users' experience (when receiving texts from friends with Android phones), but Apple does it deliberately as a nudge to get people to use Apple products.

There's no valid technical or security reason to do this. It's a tactical decision on Apple's part.

Re:U.S. sues Apple, accusing it of maintaining an iPhone mon... by bombcar on Thursday March 21, 2024 @12:23PM (#39780682)
If iMessages have benefits (they do) then there is a technical reason to show you the bubble colors - so you know the benefits apply. If sending video to a blue contact is better than sending it to green, there's a reason to know.

Does it ACTUALLY matter? Maybe not? But people really do complain about a non-iPhone "degrading" a group chat, so it is indicating something.

At the time they made iMessage at first? It was likely a real advance and only because they could control both ends. But now? They may be large enough that it's unfair use of their monopoly in one area to affect another, and get slapped or forced to interoperate.

Re:U.S. sues Apple, accusing it of maintaining an iPhone mon... by endemic on Thursday March 21, 2024 @12:22PM (#39780654)
Why not both?
Re:U.S. sues Apple, accusing it of maintaining an iPhone mon... by samatman on Thursday March 21, 2024 @12:29PM (#39780771)
The argument that the color of a message bubble is tantamount to a "degraded experience" is truly bizarre.
Re:U.S. sues Apple, accusing it of maintaining an iPhone mon... by misnome on Thursday March 21, 2024 @01:27PM (#39781677)
Or how about if, I don't know, one of them you have to pay your carrier for, and one of them is free?

That might be worth letting the user know about it.

Re:U.S. sues Apple, accusing it of maintaining an iPhone mon... by afavour on Thursday March 21, 2024 @12:44PM (#39780986)
There are many industries in the world regulated to be interoperable. I suspect the primary reason you find the notion weird is simply because you're not used to it.
Re:U.S. sues Apple, accusing it of maintaining an iPhone mon... by dagmx on Thursday March 21, 2024 @01:54PM (#39782028)
But that’s precisely why I mentioned the second point. I don’t believe there’s precedence to force a company to develop support for a competitor.