14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has absolutely no intention to bring iMessage to Android, even now when the WhatsApp exodus is pushing millions of users to alternative platforms.
And while the Cupertino-based tech giant still doesn’t think that iMessage should no longer remain a service exclusive to its users, here’s a new app that does something which sounds impossible at first.
Beeper is a new application that brings the most popular messaging platforms under one roof, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Skype, IRC, Signal, Discover, and… iMessage.
While the app isn’t free, being available with a $10 monthly subscription, it comes with a promise that makes some raise an eyebrow: it allows you to connect to iMessage even if you don’t have an iPhone.
“This was a tough one to figure out! Beeper has two ways of enabling Android, Windows and Linux users to use iMessage: we send each user a Jailbroken iPhone with the Beeper app installed which bridges to iMessage, or if they have a Mac that is always connected to the internet, they can install the Beeper Mac app which acts as a bridge. This is not a joke, it really works!” the company explains.
Open API
In addition to rich support for other platforms, Beeper also promises a fully open API, which means developers can expand the standard functionality with new capabilities, including support for bots and other plugins.
“Build on top of Beeper. Extend your chat experience with bots, extensions, plugins and integrations using the standardized Matrix API. Optionally run the whole Beeper stack on your own Matrix server with our open source bridges,” it says.
Certainly, the iMessage support is a flagship feature of this new application, and it’ll be interesting how many people would actually give it a try just for this implementation. Sure, the $10 monthly fee isn’t something many users would like, but right now, it’s pretty much the only way to have iPhone outside the Apple ecosystem.