Everyone always brings up iMessage as a reason for liking iPhones. I've had android and iPhone, currently a 5s but just had a Note 3 and I don't understand this point. What is so great about iMessage?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Why go Android if you already have a Mac and iOS device?
- Thread starter Amplelink
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Everyone always brings up iMessage as a reason for liking iPhones. I've had android and iPhone, currently a 5s but just had a Note 3 and I don't understand this point. What is so great about iMessage?
I agree, everyone on here seems to talk about. Nobody I know uses it, and heck we still have a 4S in addition to the 5 and 5S and it's just an Apple gimmick to me. Only answer I ever see on here is people who have family over seas and want to text. Just use whatsapp if that's the case since it's cross platform enabled at least.
It is nice if a lot of your contacts are in the ecosystem, but you're right, if it isn't the case it is virtually useless.
For me, a lot of contacts I have are on iOS with iMessages on. And it works well b/c I can message them on my Mac, iPad or iPhone and the conversation is maintained in one dialog. And the feature is native to all Apple devices. I use Hangouts too, but I find it more rare (in my case) to be able to reach anyone on Hangouts.
Can only offer why I prefer it. Let me first preface that the vast majority of my regular contacts have iPhones so much of these benefits are contingent upon this environment. Using Messages (actually hasn't been called iMessage for a while now
) offers me the following benefits;1) No MMS size limitations as imposed by my carrier. I moved from Android just before Hangouts was revised to integrate SMS/MMS so my experience predates this. I found the stock messaging app in both stock Android (Nexus devices) and on the HTC One to be very limiting (sending MMS photos was limited to 300K
). I did switch to Textra and liked it well enough, but still would have problems sending any photos greater than 1 MB. Sending video was simply not a viable option. Using Messages I don't have to worry about this.2) Delivery confirmation and Read Receipts--love to know my message went through and was actually seen.
3) No message size limitations. Sending messages to other iOS devices aren't cut up into 160 character chunks.
4) Being able to message my kids on their iPad/iPods. This is a biggie for me.
5) Seamless integration with standard SMS/MMS. I don't need to specify how the message is sent--just pick a contact and if they aren't using an iPhone, it will automatically revert to standard SMS/MMS.
6) Messages are synced across all of my devices (iPads, iPhone, Mac). I'm aware this can also be achieved with other applications (i.e. Hangouts) but again, as so many of my contacts are using iOS, it's already seamless.
I won't preach Messages as the the best solution available, just that it's the best solution for me and my particular situation. I can certainly see how many of these benefits would be diminished (or non-existent) for someone else not so heavily immersed in the Apple ecosystem.
Can only offer why I prefer it. Let me first preface that the vast majority of my regular contacts have iPhones so much of these benefits are contingent upon this environment. Using Messages (actually hasn't been called iMessage for a while now
1) No MMS size limitations as imposed by my carrier. I moved from Android just before Hangouts was revised to integrate SMS/MMS so my experience predates this. I found the stock messaging app in both stock Android (Nexus devices) and on the HTC One to be very limiting (sending MMS photos was limited to 300K
2) Delivery confirmation and Read Receipts--love to know my message went through and was actually seen.
3) No message size limitations. Sending messages to other iOS devices aren't cut up into 160 character chunks.
4) Being able to message my kids on their iPad/iPods. This is a biggie for me.
5) Seamless integration with standard SMS/MMS. I don't need to specify how the message is sent--just pick a contact and if they aren't using an iPhone, it will automatically revert to standard SMS/MMS.
6) Messages are synced across all of my devices (iPads, iPhone, Mac). I'm aware this can also be achieved with other applications (i.e. Hangouts) but again, as so many of my contacts are using iOS, it's already seamless.
I won't preach Messages as the the best solution available, just that it's the best solution for me and my particular situation. I can certainly see how many of these benefits would be diminished (or non-existent) for someone else not so heavily immersed in the Apple ecosystem.
I have mac, iPad and sold 5S for HTC M8. I can still use iMessage on my macbook and iPad, but Airdroid is better, i can message anyone off my macbook and iPad not just idevices.
Why go Android if you already have a Mac and iOS device?
Because locking in to a single supplier is never a good idea. The more you invest now, the bigger the future switching cost hence the lower likelihood of doing so.
They both have strengths and weaknesses. I'll never be all iOS or Android. Hedge.
Because locking in to a single supplier is never a good idea. The more you invest now, the bigger the future switching cost hence the lower likelihood of doing so.
They both have strengths and weaknesses. I'll never be all iOS or Android. Hedge.
Glad you found a solution that works best for you. As explained previously, the vast majority of my regular contacts use iOS so Messages offers me greater benefit. Using your setup would be less ideal for me as it would be disjointed and require multiple applications to see the same results and wouldn't be nearly as seamless.
But again, I wasn't trying to tout why everyone should use Messages, just answering others questions regarding its benefits, and answering them specific to my use.
I go back and forth, there is no issue as the whole ecosystem argument is a bunch of trumped nonsense anyway...to me anyway.
Makes very little difference, in my opinion, if I use an Android or iOS phone with my iMac, iPad, rMBP, MBA, ATV and Mac mini.
Makes very little difference, in my opinion, if I use an Android or iOS phone with my iMac, iPad, rMBP, MBA, ATV and Mac mini.
I use a Mac and an iPad 4 but have a Moto G for phone use, I like the nicer screen and once you get used to swipe their is no going back! I have a large iTunes collection and am using my iPhone 4s and 3s as iPods. I purchased Double Twist pro and wirelessly transfer my songs and playlists from my Mac to my Moto G ( slick )!!!! I also have a Kindle HDX and a 2013 Nexus 7 so I'm pretty much a geek one more thing, Android phone apps are great and have yet to not find what I need on the Play store, the tablet apps are OK but that's what my iPad is for!
one more thing, Android phone apps are great and have yet to not find what I need on the Play store, the tablet apps are OK but that's what my iPad is for!Why go Android if you already have a Mac and iOS device?
iMessage vs what?
SMS is no contest.
Compared to similar data using messaging services then it's preference. So you could ask for a millennia but until humans lose free will there never be a right answer for you vs your preference.
For me it's because nearly all my friends and family use iOS devices and iMessage is baked in. Beats calling my mother and getting her to sign of for google+, download a bunch of stuff....that sound scrappy to me. However rolls reversed and we all used Android we'd all use whatever it is they offer baked in.
Edit : major fault with iOS is autocorrect. Every error above is because of how terrible it is.
iMessage vs what?
SMS is no contest.
Compared to similar data using messaging services then it's preference. So you could ask for a millennia but until humans lose free will there never be a right answer for you vs your preference.
For me it's because nearly all my friends and family use iOS devices and iMessage is baked in. Beats calling my mother and getting her to sign of for google+, download a bunch of stuff....that sound scrappy to me. However rolls reversed and we all used Android we'd all use whatever it is they offer baked in.
Edit : major fault with iOS is autocorrect. Every error above is because of how terrible it is.
Last edited:
Which is fair enough. A few years back many people I knew refused to switch from Blackberry for the sole reason of "I use BBM too much, I need it".
Yeah, I hear you. I'm still seriously contemplating Android right now, and what I'm leaning towards. So it's not all or nothing. As someone said a few posts up, if you have a Mac and/or iPad then you can still make those kind of video/audio calls on that. I don't have an iPhone right now, but I frequently do FaceTime from my Mac.
The only thing I miss from iTunes on my Android phone is managing and listening my podcasts on the road. I would rather not sync them over Google Music.
I stuck with iOS for both my phone and tablet for a long time partly because I felt there was a convenience related benefit of keeping the same OS for both, but mainly because I had a poor experience with android in its first couple of years. The extra polish and stability of iOS and much higher quality of Apple devices was how I justified to myself the value of the higher cost of iOS devices. But now that android (as well as windows phone) have become very polished and reliable OSs, and are now supported by some very well made devices, this primary reason has gone away.
I still use iPad for my tablet because of the very high quality of iPad apps, but nowadays see little value in the iPhone when compared to Android and even Windows Phone. Both of these offer freedom in choice of screen size and device cost, and I highly value both these options now that these OSs have matured.
Since switching away from iPhone, having a different tablet and phone OS has not bothered me at all.
Note: I use Windows on my primary computer so I always minimised use of apple specific stuff like iWork, iPhoto, and iCloud on my apple devices anyway.
Last edited:
Got an ipad 2 but that's it.. And to be honest Android is a far better option in pretty much every area for me. And for Alot of people
IOS is very old and boring, you can't make your phone and tablet how you want it. Nova is amazing for me and how I can make my devices what the hell I like. Can't do that on Apple devices.
Staying within the ecosystem and having that peace of mind also means you are willing to compromise on some things. As good as an iPhone 5S is, I'm just happier with an Android phone.
With a few tweaks and maybe 15 minutes work my S4 is setup with my iCloud email account and calendar, and thanks to Dropbox and an Automator setup my pictures still get uploaded to iPhoto (and in turn photo steam). Anything else like iMessage/Facetime and iTunes I can live without.
The MBP and iPad stay though.
it depends on the individual. what do you do on your smartphone? calls/text/twitter/fb? if that's all you do, then whether you use windows, ios or android, you will feel little or no difference.
now do you want to change your keyboard? transfer every file wirelssly on any computer? share/view/copy/manage files (docs, pics, vdoes etc) on phone? manage and do almost everything without touch your phone via wifi? want to attach any file to an email? change default programs? use phone as wireless keyboard/mouse? boot your pc/laptop from phone (advanced)?
this is just a tiny list of questions and if you answer "yes" to any of the above, only android can offer you flexibility and power. it's not complex to use but it has the power should you need it.