Why are US users so focused on iMessage? I have seen rejected date memes because the message bubble had the wrong color. There are tons of alternatives out there. Is this a status thing?
This is a long story. But the short version is that we don’t have per-message charges in the US, so most people continue on using SMS for daily conversations.
Unless you’re an Apple user, because then you were only allowed to use 1 SMS app, and if you used with another Apple user, you were automatically upgraded to iMessage, which gave you a better messaging experience. And Apple users are an arrogant bunch so instead of switching to using literally any other chat app to chat with other users, they will just not message you if you don’t have iMessage (green bubble).
I suppose Google is equally to blame because they had several very similar apps that they abandoned over and over again.
Apple also intentionally made the green bubble contrast worse so that iPhone users would have eyestrain when conversing with non-iPhone users.
