Messenger iMessage blocks users within the iOS ecosystem, said ZDNet journalist Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, who studied Apple’s court documents.
It is clear from the court materials related to the proceedings between Apple and Epic Games how important it is for Apple to keep iMessage on iOS, iPadOS and macOS platforms, the journalist notes.
The documents say that in 2016, an Apple employee wrote in an email that “the # 1 hardest [reason] to leave Apple’s app ecosystem is iMessage … iMessage is creating a massive blockage.” App Store CEO Phil Schiller responded that bringing iMessage to Android would hurt the company more than it would help. “This letter shows why,” he said.
“IMessage on Android could just fix problems for parents using iPhones and giving their kids Android phones,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software development.
Journalist Adrian Kingsley-Hughes noted that he had covered switching from iOS to Android for many years. The biggest and most difficult obstacle to this has always been iMessage.
Another problematic factor noted in the docs is the so-called “switch costs” when changing platforms. These include the amount of time and effort it takes for a user to switch between iOS and Android, the confusion and frustration associated with switching between operating systems. The document also talks about the financial costs associated with switching between operating systems – for example, the loss of valuable media files, paid apps and in-app purchases that cannot be transferred from one device to another and will have to be downloaded again.
“There was no doubt that Apple knew about this, but it is still a little shocking that it is being discussed so openly,” the journalist writes.