Android Campaigns To End Green Text Bubbles Apple Does Not Respond
Since the dawn of smartphones, group chats have been a crucial place for the sharing of memes and the forging of friendships between people, but they have been plagued by one persistent problem — the green text.
The long-standing issue is that if an Android user is added to a group chat of iPhones, not only do their replies show up in a different colored text bubble, but the group chat cannot be given a funny nickname and it lacks many iOS-specific functions.
Texting a friend with a different phone than you should be no problem… Right? @Apple? #GetTheMessage pic.twitter.com/Qa1TDkmUSK
— Android (@Android) August 9, 2022
In an attempt to resolve this infamous issue, Google and Android have started a new social media ad campaign to pressure Apple into changing the software it uses for iMessages so that Android users no longer show up as green text and group chats involving them can have special nicknames. If Apple were to switch to a Rich Communication Services (RCS) protocol, the texts of Android users would appear normally.
WE SHOULD ALL BE USING RCS BECAUSE IT'S A STANDARDIZED MESSAGING PROTOCOL, MEANING ANYONE ON ANY OPERATING SYSTEM CAN CHAT WITH ALL OF THE SAME FEATURES pic.twitter.com/hN8IKX39ep
— Andrew Martonik (@andrewmartonik) August 19, 2022
Google, through Android, has been heavily promoting the campaign under the hashtag #GetTheMessage, but it seems to have picked up little steam. Apple, despite being constantly called out by Android on Twitter, has yet to reply at all, choosing to stick to a minimalist and lowkey posting strategy.
Get it? Got it? Good. 🤝 #GetTheMessage pic.twitter.com/4DS4pzM8vP
— Android (@Android) August 11, 2022
Sticking to Short Message Service (SMS) rather than RCS has arguably been a winning business strategy for Apple. The company’s decision to attempt to make texting on a competitor’s smartphone a "lesser" experience has been covered by the Wall Street Journal and other outlets, as well as a frequent topic in memes online for years.
The logic seems to be that if it feels cringe to receive a green text bubble, or know that your friends are receiving them from you, users might switch to an iPhone. To some degree, it seems to have worked, as Apple has been the leader in smartphone market share in the U.S. for years now (though Android massively dominates globally), filling as many front pockets in America as all of its competitors combined.
when the text bubble turn green pic.twitter.com/fabRia8oML
— Beau Degás (@yunghermoso) June 12, 2018
I use to hate when iPhone users would slander android users. Now that I have an iPhone when I see a green bubble text me…. pic.twitter.com/Er2im0xLZQ
— Zoe 🇭🇹 (@YourFavoriteZoe) February 16, 2019
When they text you and the bubble is green: pic.twitter.com/tfpCcvBvMF
— ᴺᴼᵀ Jony Ive (@JonyIveParody) August 21, 2019
If you get the stimulus and you have an android… do yourself a favor and go get an iPhone you green text-bubbled monsters
— Lori Rinehart (@Lorrr5) March 9, 2021
As the campaign spread on social media, some users online were simply confused as to why Android seemed to care so much.
Lmao what are all these android commercials for “get the message to apple” about ? They’re trying to make all texts iMessage? Or wtf is going on 🤣
— Gabby TOP 1% STONER 🗣💨 (@littleowlella) August 21, 2022
Others also pointed out supposed flaws in Android devices that the company could address.
It’s time to fix the camera. Help Android #GetTheMessage https://t.co/EVhohU16Q1
— Shmeaf (@Shmeaf1) August 22, 2022
The campaign may have been inspired by the recent Drake song “Texts Go Green,” in which the Canadian rapper describes watching his iMessage texts to a woman turn green.
Two scenarios could make it so Drake’s messages change color: The woman may have switched to an Android while Drizzy is still using an iPhone or she may have blocked him after their breakup. Smartphones have proven to be a frequent subject for Drake, whose "Hotline Bling" helped to define an era in which they were still used for calling.
At brunch and they’re playing Texts Go Green pic.twitter.com/DJx01TSdMG
— Maya. (@MAC_avery) August 28, 2022
Android notably seized on the opportunity back in June to post a lyrics explainer video.
#TextsGoGreen hit us different, that’s why we had to drop this unofficial lyric explainer video #GetTheMessage 💚😏 pic.twitter.com/dPxt9yZjCG
— Android (@Android) June 18, 2022
It’s likely the campaign, which has been tirelessly toiling along all summer, will not be particualrly successful — so you may be seeing green text in the gc for a long time to come.
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