In a first crossover between Android and Apple, Nothing has announced that the Nothing Chats app will support Apple’s iMessage chats too.
All the Apple fanboys can chill a bit now about their favorite blue bubbles.
The application has been developed by the British smartphone company in association with Sunbird, which already has an app that provides iMessage compatibility. Interesting one right?
“Nothing is the first mobile company to offer a solution to one of the biggest frustrations between Android and iOS users. Nothing Chats, powered by Sunbird, allows you to directly message other phone users from your Nothing phone via blue bubbles,” Nothing said on its website.
Currently in its testing phase, the Nothing Chats app will be rolled out this week in the US, the UK, and the EU via Play Store.
The app should be made available on other Nothing devices and in other regions, including India in the coming months.
Apart from iMessage features like live typing indicators, voice notes, and full-resolution media sharing, the Nothing Chats app will also offer RCS messaging.
However, other features that are quite common in messaging apps like read receipts, message reactions, and replies will not be available at the launch.
All these features and more will be rolled out gradually over the next few months to Nothing phone users.
To set up the chats app with iMessage, users will be required to log in using their Apple ID. The company said that the chats will be encrypted end-to-end for privacy.
Google has often criticized Apple for not adopting RCS, which allows cross-platform messaging support. Currently, iMessage is limited to Apple’s ecosystem and does not allow sharing high-res media, voice notes, etc, with other platforms.