Previous to WWDC 2016, rumours circulated that Apple might bring one of its most valuable iPhone differentiators to Android with the development of an iMessage app for the competing operating system.
The idea had an air of credibility due to Apple’s recent focus on services, such as Apple Music, as the future revenue drivers for its brand, but ultimately the company didn’t reveal any such cross-platform solution.
That doesn’t mean, however, that the concept is completely off the table, however, at least according to long-time Apple columnist John Gruber, founder of the online publication Daring Fireball.
“I’ve heard from little birdies that mockups of iMessage for Android have circulated within the company, with varying UI styles ranging from looking like the iOS Messages app to pure Material Design,” writes Gruber.
While this is certainly no guarantee that an Android iMessage app will ever come to light, the mock-ups suggest, as Gruber notes, “there’s no ‘of course not’ to it.”
Related: Smartwatch sales declined 51 percent worldwide, Apple’s market share drops by 30 percent
[source]Daring Fireball[/source][via]MacRumors[/via]
