Last month, we saw an app that enabled Android users to use iMessage, a service that’s officially iOS-only. According to a new report, though, we may soon see a more official solution for iMessaging on Android.
Apple will allegedly announce iMessage for Android at its Worldwide Developers Conference, which kicks off on June 13. That’s according to “a source familiar with the company’s thinking” that spoke to MacDailyNews. That source added that plans are in flux and so the timing of the announcement could change, but that Apple will “definitely” launch iMessage on Android at some point in 2016.
iMessage is the messaging app that works between Mac and iOS devices and supports features like read receipts, group chats, real-time chat, and more. It’s a popular feature among Apple users, and it’d be nice to see the feature come to Android so that Mac and iOS users could more fully embrace iMessage rather than having to use SMS to text their Android-using friends.
This report is currently unconfirmed, so it’s entirely possible that we won’t actually see iMessage on Android. Apple has embraced Android a bit lately, though, with the launch of Apple Music on Android. It’s possible that Apple could launch iMessage on Android to give Android users a taste of its messaging service in the hopes that they’ll eventually switch to iOS to get a more integrated iMessage experience.