Exciting news! Can't wait for iMessage to open up too. Any idea if this (or othe...

TZubiri · 2026-01-24T19:56:15 1769284575

But iMessage is already open? You can send an SMS to any number and it shows in iMessage, completely interoperable through that standard protocol.

Whatsapp on the other hand does not show SMS messages (Which is a design choice that makes sense from a security perspective I guess, not saying it's wrong.)

kelnos · 2026-01-24T20:05:19 1769285119

You're confusing two different things, though I don't blame you for it, as it is confusing. "iMessage" is the OTT E2E-encrypted chat protocol. "Messages" note the lack of the leading "i" and trailing "s") is an iOS app that lets you send and receive messages using both the iMessage and SMS/MMS/RCS protocols.

iMessage is not open, and Apple fights efforts by other companies (e.g. Beeper) to interoperate with it.

TZubiri · 2026-01-25T00:31:56 1769301116

Ok then, Apple's Messages is interoperable, as you can communicate via SMS with its users.

snowmobile · 2026-01-26T03:18:38 1769397518

You can communicate via SMS with users of WhatsApp too genius. Do you think it's encrypted in any way?

cheema33 · 2026-01-24T22:49:02 1769294942

> But iMessage is already open?

How do you send/receive messages from a Windows system? My guess is that you think iMessage is SMS-only.

TZubiri · 2026-01-25T00:30:00 1769301000

>How do you send/receive messages from a Windows system?

You can send an SMS.

>My guess is that you think iMessage is SMS-only

No, there's Apple's proprietary protocol, that you can only use on Apple devices. But from non Apple devices you can use the standard SMS.

cheema33 · 2026-01-25T09:16:03 1769332563

>> My guess is that you think iMessage is SMS-only

> No, there's Apple's proprietary protocol...

Earlier you asked: "But iMessage is already open?"

Now you are saying that iMessage uses "Apple's proprietary protocol". I hope now you understand that when people say that Apple iMessage is not open, they are not talking about the SMS protocol that Apple does not own.

nottorp · 2026-01-24T21:52:29 1769291549

> You can send an SMS to any number

Can you send a photo?

blell · 2026-01-24T22:26:27 1769293587

Yes, through MMS or RCS.

hocuspocus · 2026-01-24T23:03:33 1769295813

So, no. MMS is increasingly being discontinued in several regions, and RCS support is extremely patchy worldwide, especially on iOS.

nottorp · 2026-01-25T08:03:22 1769328202

Let's rephrase: can you send a photo hassle free?

thevillagechief · 2026-01-24T19:38:13 1769283493

iMessage will not be opening up. They lobbied hard in the EU and got an exemption for not being popular enough there I guess.

Hamuko · 2026-01-24T19:51:09 1769284269

iMessage really isn't popular in Europe. Although the fact that any SMS sent between two iPhones automatically converts into an iMessage message means that there are definitely (accidental) users.

nozzlegear · 2026-01-24T19:39:03 1769283543

Did they lobby for an exemption, or is that just how the law is written?

bsimpson · 2026-01-24T19:42:15 1769283735

The DMA is enforced by bureaucracy. The commission proposes that certain platforms are big enough to be regulated, and then there's a comment period/negotiation. The list of platforms currently being regulated is publicly available.

bootsmann · 2026-01-24T19:45:01 1769283901

There is a hard number of users you have to achieve, its one of the reasons why iOS had to allow third party app stores but playstation did not.

arter45 · 2026-01-24T19:45:50 1769283950

In fact, Apple is still part of the DMA list with Safari, iOS, iPad OS and App Store.

drcongo · 2026-01-24T20:11:26 1769285486

I might be misremembering, but I think iMessage implementing RCS was the compromise.

hocuspocus · 2026-01-24T23:07:09 1769296029

Unlikely, iOS still doesn't support RCS in most European countries.

jeroenhd · 2026-01-25T01:06:34 1769303194

iMessage isn't popular enough in Europe to be broken up by the DMA from what I recall.