Unconfirmed reports have stated that mock ups and schematics for iMessage on Android have been circulating around Apple internally, according to Daring Fireball.
The plans were initially meant to be revealed at the WorldWide Developer Conference last year, but that idea never ended up materializing, and the rumours died down slightly following the event. Following this latest revelation, the potential merging has been thrust back into the spotlight, and is gaining attention from many different parts of the technology industry.
This latest speculation has stoked the fire again, and it has got people talking about whether Apple will finally succumb to the pressure and end up making iMessage multi-platform, similar to what Blackberry did with Blackberry Messenger (BBM) a few years ago.
Apple are yet to come forward and release an official statement regarding the reports of these plans, which has only further fuelled speculation amongst Android users and industry experts alike. However, in controversial situations like this Apple are not known for quickly coming out and issuing a statement, so as far as a lot of people are concerned, this is standard protocol for the smartphone giants.
Despite the rumours, one thing will remain the same, and that is that Facetime will remain as an Apple exclusive regardless of what will happen with iMessage. There has been no indication that Facetime will also be transferred over, and if the iMessage transition does happen, it will cover iMessage only and no other Apple specific features.
Google have recently released an app called Duo, which is multi-platform and acts as a substitute for Facetime for Android users, but of course the app has not taken off in the Apple market as they have access to Facetime and don’t need a secondary version of it.
