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Comment by gaius | Hacker News Reader

I wonder if this will prompt Apple to open up group iMessage, such as BlackBerry (belatedly) attempting to go cross-platform with an app. Charge Android users $1/year or /month for access to the ecosystem or something. Bye-bye WhatsApp overnight, in lucrative developed markets.

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Apple doesn't need 'em though. What's $1/year to a $265bn/year company? Maybe Apple converts a few hundred million of them to iMessage. 0.1% revenue bump in return for devaluing a USP of their product and increased ongoing development and operating costs.

Plus I think you overestimate Android users' propensity to hand over even $1 in return for no ads.

The reason Apple Music is on Android is that the larger userbase directly gives Apple more bargaining power with labels.

What's $1/year to a $265bn/year company? Maybe Apple converts a few hundred million of them to iMessage. 0.1% revenue bump in return for devaluing a USP of their product and increased ongoing development and operating costs.

It would just be the same as them selling a 99c app, and the goal would be some of those users for their next phone switching to iPhone. And more high-ground kudos as “the privacy company” which is where their marketing is positioned right now.

Plus I think you overestimate Android users' propensity to hand over even $1

It seems to be a general thing on all platforms, people will pay $1000 for a handset and $5 for a coffee but hesitate to spend 99c on an app.

I think iMessage is currently a strong unique selling proposition for iPhone (in the US anyway; no one cares about it elsewhere), and offering it for $1 would reduce the likelihood of switching to iPhone - not increase it.

Apple isn't really in the business of making $1 apps (that I can think of) - just of selling them on behalf of others.

iMessage would be a much better selling point if it was cross platform. Being able to only chat with other Apple users is kind of pointless.

Maybe a I am an outlier, but I only use iMessage. If for some reason I have to message an Android user, I just let it fall back to SMS. In the US, unlimited SMS is a thing.

That's fine for 1-on-1, but not groups.

Self-evidently it is not.

If only it was so easy. Why would users pay when they can send messages sent for free? Also, iMessage is not materially adding new feature against what Messenger and Whatsapp already offer - so adoption is going to be a massive uphill battle.

iMessage succeeds on Apply only because it is the DEFAULT SMS app which Apple took over and converted into a full blown Messenger solution. Highly unlikely this playbook will work out on Android.

Why would users pay when they can send messages sent for free?

A combination of awareness that TANSTAAFL and network effects - RIM sold plenty of BB hardware to people who just wanted access to BBM because that’s where all their friends were, so there’s precedent.

I think it’s pretty safe to assume that even if there were a paid option for FB, Insta, WhatsApp they would still do everything they could to monetise personal data, because that’s just the kind of company FB is, rapacious.

You're not going to reach the tipping point with just that. Most users don't care one iota about why their lunch is free. They know you feel strongly about that topic, but feel that they just have nothing to hide, that targetted advertisements are really pretty convenient, that they are rather good at ignoring advertisements, that they are not the real target after all with their modest income — that you are just fighting the inevitable based on some vague principle.

The majority at this point in time does not seem to care about privacy, but they do care about the price.

Also, what's the point of moving to just another walled garden? Apple will still keep the service proprietary and closed to third party clients, so you'll also lose the vocal software freedom folk in your approach.

"RIM sold plenty of BB hardware to people who just wanted access to BBM because that’s where all their friends were, so there’s precedent."

Ahhh...those heady BBM days..BBM Pins and stuff. It's amazing how quickly everything changed for BB.

Because they don't want to see the ads being discussed here?

The parent's key point is going cross-platform to take market share from WhatsApp, not the exact funding model.

> iMessage is not materially adding new feature against what Messenger and Whatsapp already offer

Sure it does: it isn’t sending all of my data to an advertising company.

Speak for yourself. I'm an Android user and I'd happily pay for iMessage.

Interesting, this must be very different in other countries. Pretty much every iPhone owner I know communicates via instant messengers, usually WA and not iMessage.

I think this really depends on where you live and what kinds of communication apps people use, since it doesn't help to use iMessage if nobody is willing to talk to you when you do.

why would they do that when iMessage is the #1 feature that keeps their users from ditching their $1000 phones

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