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Comment by nashashmi | Hacker News Reader

Spot on.

iMessage took over because iPhone users could no longer send group SMS. Apple killed group SMS. Google never did this. Only tried to change Sms and enhance it.

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What are you talking about? It’s possible to send group SMS messages on iPhone.

Can you do this if all of the recipients have iPhone? Or do they automatically get switched to Imessage?

It depends on whether or not those iPhone users have turned off iMessage out of some misguided sense of protocol purity. If some but not all have it turned off, their experience will be similar to an android user in a chat with iMessage users (ie, terrible).

If everyone has it turned off, it is just the normal group SMS experience (also terrible). SMS group chat isn't gone, you just very rarely see it because there is almost no reason for an Apple user to disable iMessage.

I guess I am talking to apple fanboys here. Effectively all group messages with iPhone users get switched to iMessage. Unless they have opted out. Which nobody does.

You have to opt in to iMessage.

This is also no different to everyone in a group who can use WhatsApp or a similar app using that.

SMS is the lowest common denominator fallback. RCS is not much better.

Yes, of course. Every iPhone can switch of iMessage if desired.

Yes but they cannot do it per group. Or per message.

Why would this matter?

Apple killed group SMS?

One of the group chats my wife uses for work is all SMS users except for her.

Or am I misreading your comment?

If my experience is anything to go by, those other users see your wife's replies come in as 1:1 messages, not messages to the group.

There's a setting on Android which controls that. About half of the people I know have it set.

... I have sent group SMS (MMS) with an iPhone.

It’s strange how many apple fan boys are all over this forum trying to downvote me.

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