This video discusses the significance of the "blue bubble" (iMessage) versus "green bubble" (non-iMessage) phenomenon in the United States. It traces the history of messaging services, highlighting how iMessage's integration into the iPhone created a divide between iPhone and Android users. The video explores the challenges of achieving a universal multi-platform messaging app and emphasizes the role of default messaging apps in user behavior. It also discusses the potential impact of RCS (Rich Communication Services) as an alternative solution to bridge the gap between messaging platforms.
Here are some key facts extracted from the text:
1. Blue bubbles represent iMessage, a service by Apple that works over the internet and has many features and advantages over SMS and MMS.
2. Green bubbles represent SMS or MMS, the old standards for text and multimedia messaging that are limited, insecure and often compressed.
3. iMessage is only available on Apple devices and creates a lock-in effect for iPhone users who don't want to lose its features or feel left out by switching to Android.
4. iMessage is also a social network of iPhone users who communicate with each other using iPhone-only features like Animoji, Apple Pay and games.
5. The iPhone is very popular in the US, especially among young people, which makes iMessage even more dominant and influential.
6. RCS is a new messaging standard that supports many of the same features as iMessage, such as read receipts, typing indicators, reactions and end-to-end encryption for direct messages.
7. Google has implemented RCS in its Google Chat service, which works with the Google Messages app that is becoming the default messaging app on Android phones.
8. Apple has not added RCS support to iMessage, which means iPhone users still have to use SMS or MMS when texting Android users.
9. Apple may value the lock-in effect of iMessage more than the security and convenience of RCS for its users.