iMessage is one of the main reasons some Apple users never switch to Android. While Apple said it is working on bringing the modern RCS messaging standard to iPhones next year, it won't be the same as iMessage. So, several companies have tried to bring iMessage to Android phones and failed (like Nothing). Now, a new app—Beeper Mini—claims that it truly brings Apple's iMessage service to Android phones.
Beeper Mini brings iMessage to Android for $1.99/month
Beeper Mini is an Android app that allows users to register themselves as iMessage users and send and receive iMessages. The app manages to do this without relaying messages through a Mac device hosted in a cloud (which is what Nothing's Sunbird integration did), and all the data is end-to-end encrypted. It means there are no privacy and security issues. Even Apple can't read iMessage data sent or received through its servers. One of the developers of the app managed to reverse engineer iMessage, and that's how the service has been brought to Android. The same can be done with Windows and other operating systems.
The Beeper Mini app is now available through the Play Store globally and costs $1.99 per month. It is a simple app that supports texts (with emojis), audio messages, images, videos, files, contacts, and location. It also supports tapbacks (reactions to iMessages), but it doesn't support animated stickers yet. It also doesn't support other advanced features such as mini apps, location sharing, and digital touch. More importantly, messages sent from your Galaxy (or any Android) phone will be visible in a blue bubble rather than green, ending the blue bubble-green bubble controversy.
Beeper Mini uses reverse engineering to bring iMessage to all Android phones
Apparently, the Beeper Mini team figured out how to showcase your Android phone to Apple's servers as a genuine Apple product. The team jailbroke iPhones and dove deep into the OS to see how everything works. Then, they figured out a way to register your phone number for iMessage, send messages directly to Apple's servers, and receive messages from the cloud natively inside the app. We've tried the app for a day on our Galaxy S23 Ultra and conversed with an iPhone user, and everything worked as it should.
After Sunbird and Nothing's iMessage service was shut down just four days after its launch, there are bound to be security and privacy issues. So, how long does Beeper Mini have before Apple blocks this service or breaks things from its end? Well, Beeper CTO Brad Murray told TheVerge that the company is on the right side of the law and there is no Apple code inside Beeper Mini. According to him, Apple may not be able to break Beeper Mini's iMessage compatibility without breaking it for genuine iPhone users as well.
Author's Note: Although what Beeper Mini has achieved is nothing short of impressive, Apple has already announced that it is bringing RCS to iPhones. So, would Android users be interested in using Beeper Mini over RCS, which will likely be free for all users next year? We don't think so.
Since RCS supports most modern messaging features, including typing indicators, high-resolution images and videos, audio messages, message reactions, location sharing, group chats, and message replies, most Android users will likely be happy with RCS when chatting with an iPhone user.
