Google says Apple ‘should not benefit from bullying’ created by iMessage lock-in

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The Messages app distinguishes between the two operating systems.

The photo was taken by Amelia Krales.

Apple has been accused of benefiting from bullyy as part of a plan to make its users into second-class citizens.

Memoji is an exclusive feature of the messaging service, and it turns texts from users on the other side of the world green. This has turned into a status symbol for US teens, creating peer pressure for them to buy an Apple product, and sometimes leading to the ostracization of other users. For some, showing up in a group chat as a green bubble has become a social faux pas.

A recent report in The Wall Street Journal highlighted this dynamic and prompted a response from both the Android team and Hiroshi Lockheimer, the head of Android.

iMessage should not be used for harassment. Texting can bring us together. The official account of the Android operating system said that it was time to fix this as one industry.

Apple has a documented lock-in strategy. It is disingenuous for a company that has humanity and equity to use peer pressure and bully to sell products. Today's standards exist to fix this.

Making iMessage available on the other platform would hurt us more than help us.

The conscious importance of Apple's iMessage strategy was confirmed by internal emails that were sent by company executives during the recent trial. Apple considered making iMessage available on the other side of the world, but decided that it would hurt them more than it would help them. Craig Federighi said that it would remove an obstacle to iPhone families giving their kids a phone.

The company would benefit hugely from Apple making iMessage available on the phone. Major US carriers have already gathered support for the next-generation texting standard, called RCS, which is intended to replace SMS.

It's not well placed to criticize other companies' messaging strategies. The search giant has launched 13 different messaging apps since the introduction of iMessage, but most of them have failed.