The mobile class divide between the iPhone blue bubble and the Android green bubble might need regulators to settle things in the future, but Nothing has another solution coming soon.
Nothing Chats is an upcoming messaging app for the Nothing Phone (2) that lets Android users drop their green bubbles for the sleek blue bubble from Apple. Developed by Sunbird, the app requires users to log in with their Apple ID or create a new account, and once set, they will be able to send messages on Nothing Chats in roughly the same fashion as in iMessage while using their Android phone. Features such as live typing indicators, full-resolution media sharing and voice notes will be available at launch with read receipts and message reactions coming later, according to a video featuring Nothing CEO Carl Pei uploaded Tuesday.
There is a bit of a catch. Nothing Chats requires users to log into their Apple ID accounts onto, essentially, an Apple device via a remote connection. In the Nothing Chats FAQ, messages sent have end-to-end encryption that neither Nothing or Sunbird can access, and login credentials are not stored on Sunbird’s servers. How truly secure this will be once launched is not totally clear.
Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about Nothing Chats.
Nothing Chats launches on the Google Play Store Friday for Nothing Phone (2) owners in the U.S., Canada, UK and EU. The app is still in its beta.
The Nothing Phone (2) launched back in July and starts at $599. Pei was the co-founder of OnePlus who started up Nothing in 2021. The Nothing Phones are Android phones with innovative designs that offer a lot of phone for less than the flagship phones from Google, Samsung and Apple.