Where's iMessage for Android?

WHY APPLE KEEPS IMESSAGE LOCKED TO A SINGLE PLATFORM IN A CROSS-PLATFORM MESSAGING WORLD

iMessage is Apple's text and media messaging service, bundled into the Messages app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. And that's where the platform support ends. There's no iMessage for Android or for Windows. There's certainly no iMessage for Windows Phone or BlackBerry. Unlike Apple's Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and iWork, there's not even an iMessage in the iCloud. But, on the heels of Facebook buying WhatsApp for $16 billion and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) being far too late to the cross-platform party... should there be?

If our friends, colleagues, and family all use Apple devices, a few glitches aside, iMessage is close to a perfect solution. If our friends, colleagues, and family aren't all in the Apple ecosystem then iMessage falls back on SMS/MMS. Not everyone wants to use — or pay for — carrier text and multimedia messaging service, however, so that's where cross-platform IM like WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook Messenger, Line, WeChat, and others come in.

If Apple released iMessage for Android — and perhaps others platforms, including the web — then iOS users could both stay in Messages.app, and stay connected to their cross-platform contacts. Apple could also potentially gain a messaging user base as big as WhatsApp, Line, or the other giant services. So why haven't they?

BlackBerry's missed BBM boat

BlackBerry was once in a similar situation. Evolving from the pager they grew to support email first, then BBM. By 2006 they were an incredibly popular handset manufacturer with an incredibly popular messaging service attached to their platform. And those two things, their handset popularity and their messaging popularity, were inextricably linked.

By 2010, however BlackBerry's handsets had fallen behind iPhone and Android. There was talk of BlackBerry taking BBM cross-platform but nothing ever came of it. They were seemingly afraid that if they let their messaging system go, their users would go with it. It wasn't apparent to them at all that their messaging business could surpass their handset business. That BlackBerry as a company could be valued at around $5 billion and WhatsApp, a cross-platform clone of BBM, would one day go for $16 billion. So BlackBerry waited. They waited until many of their users had moved on and only then did they take BBM cross-platform. And instead of a position of strength and dominance, they find themselves fighting to survive.

Could Apple face a similar problem? Could keeping iMessage restricted to iOS hurt them the same way failing to make BBM cross-platform earlier enough hurt BlackBerry?

No.

Products vs. businesses

Apple doesn't mistake their products for their business. Instead of protecting the iPod and the Mac, they pushed ahead with iPhone and iPad. Now, as digital music sales have tanked and PC sales have slowed, Apple is more successful than ever. That's because Apple's business was never iPods and Macs, it was personal computing devices. They try very, very hard to obsolete themselves before someone else can obsolete them.

Facebook has proven themselves to be similar. Facebook's business isn't Facebook. It's attention. Facebook is just a product. Rather than obsoleting themselves the way Apple does, however, they buy companies that appear to be on a path towards obsoleting them. Hence Instagram and now WhatsApp. Facebook doesn't care about people using Instagram or WhatsApp instead of Facebook any more than Apple cares about someone using an iPhone or iPad instead of an iPod or Mac. They just care that they're using Facebook products.

BlackBerry, on the other hand, thought handsets were their business and they were wrong. Handsets were just their product. Attention was their business as well. Namely the attention their phenomenal communication experience gave them. Security, physical keyboards, blinking notification lights, and the handsets themselves only contributed to the delivery of those communications to get and keep that attention, be it pages and email in the early days or BBM after it was developed.

Apple isn't in the attention business. Apple is not the compelling scene through the window. Apple is the window. Apple doesn't much care what scene you're looking at through the window, as long as it's Apple's window you're looking through. And that's a very different dynamic.

The secrets to success

To stay successful, BlackBerry had to make sure they kept their users' attention. Facebook likewise. Apple does not. To stay successful Apple has to make sure the devices through which people give their attention have Apple logos on them, regardless of where that attention is going.

Part of doing that is ensuring that iPhones and iPads provide a base-level of functionality right out of the box. The other part is making sure the iPhone and iPad remain the absolute best gateway to the internet and to apps beyond what they come with in the box.

iMessage is there to make sure anyone with an iPhone or iPad can easily keep in contact with the people they care about. Phenomenal HTML5 support and killer Cocoa frameworks are there to make sure any developer can easily and delightfully launch any other messaging app imaginable on the App Store. Which is exactly what they've done.

So where's iMessage for Android?

Apple has traditionally been a far better hardware and software company than they've been a services company. Not only wouldn't cross-platform iMessage play to their strengths, it would further burden their resources.

As much as you or I or many other people might like iMessage to go cross-platform, to be able to use Messages.app to chat with our Android and Windows and other friends, colleagues, and family, to use it on any device or on the web, Apple doesn't need it to. 1) Because iMessage's only major reason for being is to increase the overall value of Apple's actual business: personal computing devices, and 2) because every other service has gone cross-platform for iPhone and iPad, often first and best. Not only isn't that a problem for Apple, it's a key reason for their success.

Finding the missing iPad apps

APPLE DIDN'T INCLUDE VOICE MEMO, WEATHER, CALCULATOR, PHONE, COMPASS, AND STOCKS APPS ON THE IPAD, BUT THE APP STORE HAS GREAT ALTERNATIVES FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE!

iPhone owners who pick up an iPad are often surprised to find that, while many things about iOS are the same, the built-in apps are not. Apple's Weather, Stocks, Calculator, Compass, Phone, and Voice Memo apps, all front-and-center on the iPhone, are nowhere to be found on the iPad Air or iPad mini. The why - that Apple perhaps didn't feel the interfaces scaled well to the big screen, or simply didn't think they were as absolutely necessary on a tablet as they are on a phone - doesn't really matter. What does matter is that the App Store has us more than covered with several excellent weather, calculator, stock, and voice memo apps for iPad to choose from. Which ones are the very best, however, and more importantly, the best for you?

Best weather apps for iPad

Since there's no iPad version of the built-in iPhone and iPod touch Weather app, if you want to find out the temperature or check the forecast on the big screen, you need to turn to the App Store. But there you run into a second problem - too many great weather apps to choose from. It's one of the most popular app categories on the store, and developers and designers have had a field day making the perfect weather apps to suit a wide range of needs. So many, in fact, choosing just the right one to suit your needs can be almost overwhelming. That's where we come in. From minimalist or power-packed, here are our favorite weather apps for iPad!

• Best weather apps for iPad

Best Stock Market apps for iPad

Even though the iPhone's built-in Stocks app is nowhere to be found on the iPad, it's still is an amazing tool for managing your finances either at home, at work, or on the go. From checking on your investments, to monitoring trends, to knowing when to buy and when to get out, when to short and when to stay long, there are ton of apps that help you do just exactly that. Which stock apps is best for you? Here are our favorites!

• Best Stock Market apps for iPad

Best calculator apps for iPad

Apple doesn't include a Calculator app on the iPad the way they do on iPhone and iPod touch, so if you want to tally up your numbers or do complex equations, you need to go to the App Store. And that's a good thing, because there are several excellent - and different - calculators to choose from. The question is, whether you need simple arithmetic, scientific or engineering equations, or full-on graphing, which is the best calculator app for you? Here are our favorites!

• Best calculator apps for iPad

Best voice memo apps for iPad

Whether you're a student attending lectures or a professional with a need to record meetings or conference calls, voice memo and audio recording apps are a must have for lots of people. While the iPhone has one built right in, the iPad does not. Luckily, the App Store more than makes up for it with plenty of very good voice memo alternatives. From basic recording to advanced annotation, which one is the best, and more specifically, which one is the best for you? Here are our favorites!

• Best voice memo apps for iPad

Best compass apps for iPad

Unlike the iPhone, the iPad doesn't come with a built-in Compass app. That might sound fine, since you're more likely to be out and about and in need of finding your way with an iPhone. However, the iPad is a great travel companion as well, whether you're on a business trip, out hiking, or out on the high seas. And if you have it, why not use it? Luckily the App Store is full of great compass apps for iPad, the only problem is figuring out which is the best one for you. That's where iMore comes in! These are our favorite compass apps for iPad!

• Best compass apps for iPad

Best phone apps for iPad

Apple hasn't ever included a Phone app on the iPad, and maybe that's just as well. Do we really need to see people with 7.9- or 9.7-inch devices propped up to their heads? Yet iPad owners may certainly need to make calls too, and like the giant conference phones of old, in some cases, bigger really can be better. So, if you absolutely, positively need to get your call on, and the iPad is what you want to use, you'll need to check out some alternatives. Luckily, there are several excellent voice calling apps to choose from, and one is even built-right in!

• Best phone apps for iPad

Best jailbreak apps for iOS 7

FROM QUICK REPLY, TO CUSTOM GESTURES, KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS, AND MORE, HERE'S HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR IOS 7 JAILBREAK ON IPHONE AND IPAD!

Jailbreak lets you do far more with your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad than is possible out of the box. For some it's an unwanted complication, for others, dream functionality come true. Part of the power of jailbreak comes from the apps and tweaks that it lets you run. Available from Cydia, the jailbreak app store, they can change almost everything about the look and behavior of your iOS device. But which ones are worth your time and effort? Which ones are the best? Here are my favorites!

BiteSMS

BiteSMS is hands down the best replacement for the Messages app. It's been around almost as long as jailbreak itself and has always been heavily supported by the developer. It features quick reply and quick compose options with gestures that are completely customizable through Activator. You can also by credits via BiteSMS which is great for folks that send a lot of international messages since it's much cheaper than carrier rates. BiteSMS is currently in beta for iOS 7 but you can install it now by simply adding a source.

If you want a better messaging option than what the Messages app offers natively, there's no other option but BiteSMS.

• $7.99 (Free trial) - More Info

Activator

Activator basically controls all the swipe gestures on your iPhone or iPad and allows you to customize them until your hearts content. Want to double tap on the status bar and launch a quick compose window for BiteSMS? Activator lets you do that, and so much more. Tweak controls for music, a swipe to email a specific contact, or to launch your camera. The possibilities are endless with Activator.

If you want to customize gestures to your personal liking, you need Activator.

• Free - Cydia Link

SwitchSpring

SwitchSpring not only gives you a quick way to respring your iPhone through Control Center but a super easy way to kill all apps from the multitasking tray in one go. Although I really like the card interface of the multitasking section of iOS 7 and the live previews it offers, it isn't always the most efficient way to quit a ton of apps. With SwitchSpring I can kill all my apps in less than three seconds.

If you want an easy way to kill everything in multitasking, SwitchSpring is a super convenient way to do it.

• Free - Cydia Link

SwipeSelection Pro

SwipeSelection Pro is a keyboard tweak that makes editing text a lot easier. Instead of having to tap in between words and use the magnifying glass, SwipeSelection Pro lets you scrub right on your keyboard to fine tune where your cursor ends up. That also means you don't ever have to remove your fingers from the keyboard. There's a free version as well, but the Pro version was completely redone for iOS 7 and gives more customization options than the older version.

• $1.99 - Cydia Link

iFile

iFile is a full blown file manager for the iPhone that lets you browse the entire file system unrestricted since it gives you root user permissions. It also lets you view several file types that iOS doesn't let you view by default such as ZIP files. I don't use iFile itself that frequently but I do use it all the time in conjunction with other apps when I don't have a computer around and need to open a file that my iPhone doesn't let me natively.

If you need root access to your iPhone's file system or open many different file types on a regular basis, get iFile.

• Free - Cydia Link

CCControls

Before Control Center was around, there was SBSettings. Now that Control Center's here, there's still a lot of advanced options to be had and CCControls gives you them. With more toggles than you can shake a stick at, it's the best option. It even has different themes built right in to make it easier to tell what controls are activated and what aren't.

• Free - Cydia Link

F.lux

There are few things as bad as checking your iPhone in a dark room and being blinded by it with no warning. It's no secret that ambient light sensors in iPhones and iPads have never been that great. F.lux takes things a step further and actually warms the screen color depending on the time of day so you don't end up being caught off guard by a hard, bright screen.

If you have sensitive eyes and find your iPhone screen tones to harsh in dim lighting, F.lux is awesome.

• Free - Cydia Link