What you need to know
- Nothing Chats is a Nothing Phone (2)-exclusive messaging app that supports iMessage blue bubbles and Google RCS chats.
- The app is powered by Sunbird and enables Nothing Phone (2) users to message iPhone users with full iMessage functionality.
- Phone (2) users in the U.S., Canada, UK, EU, and other European countries can download Nothing Chats from the Google Play store starting November 17.
While Google and Apple are busy fighting over text messaging standards, Nothing has been working on a secret weapon to finally resolve the ridiculous messaging issues U.S. users, in particular, have to deal with.
Debuting exclusively on the Nothing Phone (2) on November 17 via the Google Play Store, Nothing Chats attempts to bridge the gap between the world's two most popular mobile operating systems: Android, and iOS. Nothing Chats is powered by Sunbird, a company that devised a way to bring iMessage's blue bubble features to Android phones last December.
When we asked nothing about the chance of bringing Nothing Chats to the best Android phones in the future, they had this to say:
"We decided to do this now because we believe it's time for a mobile company to address one of the biggest frustrations between Android and iOS users by bringing blue bubbles to Android. The app is currently in beta and we’ve decided to keep availability more focused to ensure the best user experience at this time. Although we’re excited to be the first mobile company to introduce a blue bubble solution and we’d like to make it as widely available to Android enthusiasts as we can, we’re prioritizing delivering an optimal user experience before committing to expansion at this time."
According to Nothing CEO Carl Pei's video above, Nothing Phone (2) users in Canada, Europe, and the U.S. can message all their friends from the Nothing Chats app and be assured that the best messaging platform will be used automatically. That means messaging Android users will use encrypted RCS chats, while messaging iPhone users will use encrypted iMessage chats.
That also means that you'll be able to enjoy all the best features of both platforms, from full-resolution pictures and video, read receipts, reactions, and more.
Nothing's approach here is substantially different. Apple has ignored calls to ditch the old, insecure SMS/MMS protocol in favor of RCS, and Google has turned to regulators to force the company to implement the new standard. We discussed this exact problem on the November 13th edition of the Android Central Podcast and came to a few conclusions.
Apple doesn't want to implement RCS for two main reasons. iMessage exclusivity gives the company a key advantage in the U.S. where it currently enjoys its largest market share. It's also noteworthy that the RCS platform adopted by companies worldwide is run by Jibe, a company owned by Google. Doubtless, Apple doesn't want to use Google's servers any more than it needs to.
Get the Android phone that gets you blue bubbles! Nothing Phone (2) is now compatible with iMessage and RCS chats, so you'll be chatting securely no matter who you message.
