Internal emails reveal the exact reason Apple won’t bring iMessage to Android

When Apple launched iMessage on iPhone a few years ago, it set a new standard for instant messaging experiences on smartphones, effectively killing SMS texting in the process. iMessage replaced traditional texts with richer messages when chats occurred via an internet connection (blue bubbles), reverting to conventional SMS (green bubbles) when an internet connection wasn’t available. The app also came with end-to-end encryption, protecting the contents of chats from prying eyes. Encryption also became a standard feature for chat apps.

Apple kept upgrading the iMessage experience over the years, adding new features and support for multiple devices. The app works on all Apple’s products, allowing users to move between iPhone, iPad, and Mac seamlessly. But Apple never made an iMessage app for Android, and other third-party attempts failed to bring this highly coveted texting app to Android. It turns out that Apple actually had an excellent reason to port iMessage to Android, even though it ultimately chose not to do it.