A new app now allows Android users to get a feel of Apple’s iMessage service. The chat app is called Beeper and it unifies messaging services. The app gives you a unified inbox for 15 of the most popular messaging services and iMessage is one of those services. Beeper was developed by Eric Migicovsky who founded former smartwatch brand Pebble.
In a tweet, his new application allows for iMessage to run on other operating systems other than iOS like Windows, Android and Linux devices. As for the methodology, he noted that it is not as straightforward as you may think but they have done a majority of the work for you so you don’t have to do it. This is why they probably attached a $10 monthly fee to the app for any interested people out there.
New app alert: I've been working on Beeper for a while and today we're launching! It's a single app to chat on iMessage, WhatsApp, and 13 other networks. Been using it as my default chat client for the last 2 years and there is NO going back. Check it out https://t.co/vjAtnYvdhSpic.twitter.com/rJ39rPFixb
Announcing the launch of the app on Twitter, Migicovsky said the app makes it possible for iMessage to work on Android, Windows, and Linux devices “using some trickery.” Until now, iMessage has been available only on Apple’s own devices. However, it is important to note that Beeper is a subscription service with a $10 monthly fee.
While the app connects to other messaging services like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, it looks like the iMessage was the most tricky one so on their FAQ page, they said,
“This was a tough one to figure out! Beeper has two ways of enabling Android, Windows and Linux users to use iMessage: we send each user a Jailbroken iPhone with the Beeper app installed which bridges to iMessage, or if they have a Mac that is always connected to the internet, they can install the Beeper Mac app which acts as a bridge. This is not a joke, it really works!”
On the next app update, users can also expect a dark mode feature and even more chat networks to be added to the 15 currently supported.
The app currently offers support for fifteen chat networks: WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, iMessage, Android Messages, Telegram, Twitter, Slack, Hangouts, Instagram, Skype, IRC, Matrix, Discord, Signal, and Beeper network.
