iMessages is like a footnote here. I was surprised it was even considered.
Now that you’ve let your guard down, Apple is free to do whatever they want. It’s exactly exactly what Apple wanted.
they wanted to be irrelevant in the European market for chat applications?
no, merely considered irrelevant— for legal purposes. why? read the headline.
Im not sure you understands how this work. but anyway… they can do whatever with their service. I (or any person I know) dont plan to use it 🤷
They must’ve been playing the long game then, iMessage has been irrelevant in Europe since before this law existed. Apple truly thinks of eveything
It’s a win for Apple, but isn’t it also sort of a loss because they’re not popular enough to count?
@Bitrot Kinda like that. Most friends of mine don’t even own an iPhone. Those who do, generally use Facebook Messenger to speak to each other. If anyone is not on Facebook, they are surely on WhatsApp, or they can be reached via the classical phone calls and SMS messages (but I’ve yet to meet someone who I need to use these with, as they are clearly inconvenient as hell). If there’s a group chat, it is generally on WhatsApp.
I heard Telegram is popular as well in the post-soviet space. It is my fallback as well, and I’m not in one. Plenty of Romanian channels (news or organizations), and I speak with a couple of friends from there. I realize this is just “a different WhatsApp” from the POV of a centralized silo, but the features are great and I’d clearly trust Telegram more than Meta.
@briskI’ve always had android and never had any iMessage issues since whatsapp, telegram etc are much more popular here
@And009 yea, WhatsApp and other Meta products are especially so ubiquitous.
Hope signal becomes the default or brings in some kind of support without the meta tracking
The government labeling something that Apple fans love as “not needing regulation” is purely a win for Apple. Imagine if 99% of text messages sent were via iMessage, and the EU kept the same ruling. That means that Apple has a functioning monopoly that is not considered a monopoly because there’s technically an alternative.
Imagine if 99% of text messages sent were via iMessage, and the EU kept the same ruling.
If 99% of messages were sent via iMessage the ruling would have been different. if it ever fulfils the criteria needed to be considered gatekeepers, then they will be designed as such.
I’m sure the rule would be different. My point was mostly to say this is in no way bad for Apple
It’s not bad for apple, but iMessage is so irrelevant here in Germany, even the most die hard Apple fans will use WhatsApp no matter what.
Same here in the Netherlands. All the people I know with an iPhone use Whatsapp. I only use the standard app to read incoming SMS.
A loss for European consumers, you mean.
Apple would rather a hit to their ego than a legal restriction anywhere. A little marketing can fix the former, but the latter can be permanent and fatal.
This BS is so irrelevant, i don’t know a single person using that stuff.
I don’t really understand why Apple defends its position on this. I don’t see anybody benefiting from iMessage being in the current form. Not even Apple.
It’s the exact kind of stuff Apple ditches usually.
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The iMessage service did meet the definition of a “core platform,” serving at least 45 million EU users monthly and being controlled by a firm with at least 75 billion euros in market capitalization.
But after “a thorough assessment of all arguments” during a five-month investigation, the Commission found that iMessage and Microsoft’s Bing search, Edge browser, and ad platform “do not qualify as gatekeeper services.”
While Apple has agreed to take up RCS, an upgraded form of carrier messaging with typing indicators and better image and video quality, it will not provide encryption for Android-to-iPhone SMS, nor remove the harsh green coloring that particularly resonates with younger users.
Apple is still obligated to comply with the Digital Markets Act’s other implications on its iOS operating system, its App Store, and its Safari browser.
While it’s unlikely to result in the same kind of action, Brendan Carr, a commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission, said at a conference yesterday that the FCC “has a role to play” in investigating whether Apple’s blocking of the Beeper Mini app violated Part 14 rules regarding accessibility and usability.
The blocking and workarounds continued until Beeper announced that it was shifting its focus away from iMessage and back to being a multi-service chat app, minus one particular service.
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