We asked, you told us: Most of you would download iMessage for Android

Apple’s Craig Federighi made some interesting comments recently regarding the company’s refusal to bring iMessage to Android. The executive curiously claimed that an Android version of iMessage would’ve held back innovation, adding that it “seemed like a throwaway.”

Of course, a 2013 email by Federighi suggested that the real reason was that an Android port could mean fewer iPhones sold. In any event, we wanted to know whether you’d download iMessage if it were available for Android. We posted a poll last week, and here’s how you answered it.

Would you download iMessage for Android?

Results

This poll accrued over 4,400 votes as of writing, and it turns out that 52.62% of respondents would indeed download iMessage for Android. We’re guessing at least some of these respondents are based in the US and therefore have loads of iPhone-toting friends who don’t use WhatsApp, Telegram, and other popular IM apps.

Meanwhile, 27.98% of surveyed readers said they wouldn’t download iMessage for Android. It stands to reason that most of these people are perfectly happy with existing messaging apps.

Finally, 19.4% of respondents chose “maybe, it depends on features.” In other words, over 70% of surveyed readers are either open to downloading iMessage on Android or definitely will grab it.

Comments

• Colm Donnelly: The key difference here between Apple Music/TV apps on Android, and iMessage on Android, as that the former apps involve paid services. Apple ultimately aren’t interested in delivering a perfect (and closed) ecosystem, if it means they cannot extend monetised services. It’s about the bottom line.
• James: I used to wish iMessages was available for Android but now I wouldn’t want iMessages to become the dominant messenger in the world.
• Davin Peterson: Apple doesn’t like or want to make software for Windows or Android. They just want to make it for their devices. Unfortunately, Tim Cook hasn’t changed anything at Apple still doing it the same way as Steve Jobs.
  It would be nice if Apple opened up and made their apps available for Android like Google does with its own apps
• spann37: I’ve been using Beeper, and I have iMessage working on my Pixel 7 Pro that way.
• Steven Colvin: What about people like myself who avoid getting too invested into the Apple ecosystem, because they don’t want to get locked in. Even though I have an iPad, and love it, I use a Pixel phone and a Chromebook, both of which I enjoy also. Apple loses me a customer because I like the flexibility of using different platforms.