While discussions continue to open Apple’s messaging service iMessage to everyone under the EU’s new rules known as the Digital Markets Act (the EU is currently investigating whether iMessage should be defined as Apple’s “core platform service”), Android smartphone maker Nothing appeared with a remarkable ‘iMessage’ announcement.
ADDED IMESSAGE TO HIS PHONE THROUGH THE APPLICATION
According to The Verge, Nothing shared that it added iMessage to its newest phone through a new “Nothing Chats” app powered by messaging platform Sunbird. Accordingly, the feature will be available to users in North America, the EU and other European countries as of Friday, November 17.
“SORRY TIM”
The company published a YouTube video about this step titled “We made iMessage for Android…” The cover photo of the video in question with the words “Sorry Tim” attracted attention.
SO WHY?
On the Nothing page, the reason for this step is stated as follows: “If messaging services divide phone users, then we want to break down these barriers.” he explained with his words.
According to Nothing’s FAQ, Sunbird’s architecture provides a system for transmitting a message from one user to another without storing it at any point in its journey, and the messages are not stored on servers.
MKBHD PREVIEWED
Famous technology YouTuber Marques Brownlee, also known as MKBHD, also gave a preview of Nothing Chats. Accordingly, similar to how other iMessage-Android bridge services worked before, you log in to a Mac Mini in a server farm (a system where many servers are located together) and the Mac Mini does all the routing for you to make this happen.
PRIVACY AND SECURITY ISSUES…
Jane Nho, Nothing’s US PR Manager, said in an email to The Verge that Sunbird stores user iCloud credentials as a token in an “encrypted database” and, depending on the user’s location, can be connected to one of their Mac Minis in the US or Europe. It links and then acts as a relay for iMessages sent through the app. She added that Sunbird deletes account information after two weeks of inactivity.
The Washington Post, which tried the feature, wrote that Nothing Chats works “most of the time,” but that it lacks some of iMessage’s features, such as editing messages and Tapback reactions, and “isn’t quite working yet.” In testing, group messages sometimes had to send messages more than once to get them through, The Post said.
It was also stated that group iMessages do not work if someone in the thread is not in iMessage, which the news says is an expected situation. However, Nho confirmed that Nothing Chats supports SMS, so group SMS messaging should still work.
YOU NEED TO HAVE NOTHING PHONE 2, NOT GET ON THE WAITING LIST, AT LEAST DURING THE NEXT FEW MONTHS…
According to the news that normally you have to join the waiting list to access Sunbird, the Post wrote that Sunbird CEO Danny Mizrahi said that “the only way to access Sunbird for the next few months is to have a Nothing Phone 2.” So in the next few months, owning a Nothing Phone 2 will give users access to Sunbird.
It is curious what Apple has to say about “Nothing Chats”.
