By VANESSA SKILLDUM

The ‘Green Bubble vs. Blue Bubble’ debate has existed since Apple introduced iMessage in 2011. The green bubble appears when an iMessage user texts someone with an Android. However, the green bubble has come to represent a lot more than whether or not you use Apple or Android and which messaging service you use, but a class marker. It’s time for Apple to eliminate green texting bubbles for good and improve texting between devices. 

What specifies an Apple or Android device is rather simple. If a device uses the iPhone Operating System (iOS), it is an Apple device. Any device that uses the Android operating system (OS) is considered an Android device. Android is more of an umbrella term as it includes many brands like Samsung, Google Pixels, Motorola, and more. 

iMessage is a secure messaging service from Apple’s iOS that allows its users to send “texts, high-resolution photos and videos, documents, links, Tapbacks, text effects, Live Stickers, message effects, and more,” according to Apple’s website. An essential feature of iMessage is the end-to-end encryption of messages. This means that a third party cannot read the messages, something Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) do not have.

SMS is one of the oldest and most commonly used messaging services. MMS is the media version that sends images, videos, or audio. These services are basic in terms of features, with a 160-character text limit. There are no read receipts or reactions available, either. 

The green bubble appears when Apple users send a text through iMessage to an Android number. The text bubble appears green to signal to the Apple user that the message was sent as SMS or MMS, which as stated before, is not end-to-end encrypted. The issue is that the green bubble has come to represent more than just a message sent as SMS, but transfers into many aspects of human life including friendships, dating and perceived status. 

In July, All About Cookies surveyed 1,000 adults via Pollfish to see how Apple users perceived Android users and vice versa. The results were published in mid-September and had some interesting results. 

1 in 5 iPhone users (22%) say they think less of someone when they receive a message with a green text bubble. Not only that, but nearly a quarter (23%) responded, saying a green bubble was a dating deal breaker. This is not the first time the dating debate has been brought up. 

In a 2019 New York Post article titled, “Sorry, Android users: These iPhone snobs won’t date you,” by Hannah Frishberg talks about how the green bubble is “a dating red flag.” Within the article, there is a quote from Katie McDonough, a Brooklyn resident, that says, “If it’s not a blue message, I’m not going to bother flirting with you further…I’m just like, ‘Why don’t you have an iPhone?” Showcasing how quickly assumptions are made about someone simply if their message appears green or not. 

iMessage has aided in landing Apple in several antitrust lawsuits. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and 16 other state and district attorneys general just filed one against Apple on March 21 this year, claiming Apple is in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act. Case 2:24-cv-04055.

According to the National Archives, “The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was the first Federal act that outlawed monopolistic business practices.” These could include price-fixing, excluding competitors, limiting technological development, and deteriorating product quality. 

The green bubble fits in with the deteriorating product quality. Document one of Case 2:24-cv-04055 under complain B number 90 discusses how when an iPhone user messages a non-iPhone user in Apple Message, the quality deteriorates, including how the message appears in a green bubble, how videos are pixelated and grainy, and how the messages are not end-to-end encrypted. 

It then discusses how these things signal to iPhone “users that rival smartphones are lower quality because the experience of messaging friends and family who do not own iPhones is worse—even though Apple, not the rival smartphone, is the cause of that degraded user experience.” 

It even mentions the stigma around the green bubble, “Many non-iPhone users also experience social stigma, exclusion, and blame for “breaking” chats where other participants own iPhones. This effect is particularly powerful for certain demographics, like teenagers—where the iPhone’s share is 85 percent, according to one survey. This social pressure reinforces switching costs and drives users to continue buying iPhones.”

This specific claim can be seen in results from the All About Cookies survey, which also highlighted that “over half (52%) report being teased or made fun of by iPhone users” and how this led to 30% of Android users having considered switching to an iPhone from the pressure and mockery. This creates a lock-in technique that keeps Apple users from switching to other types of smartphones, as they don’t want the status of having an Android. 

The deterioration of text messages when photos and videos are involved across default texting methods also causes issues in communications. The All About Cookies Survey shared that “38% of Android users [reported] that they’ve missed or were unable to understand incoming messages as a result.”

Apple is well aware of horrible picture and video quality. In 2020, Epic Games, a video game and software company popular for creating games such as Fortnite, filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple known as Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple Inc. with the case number 4:20-cv-05640-YGR-TSH. During the legal discovery process, Apple shared internal emails that showcased the company’s inner workings. 

The document “Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law Proposed by Epic Games, Inc.” highlighted some of these emails that showcased that Apple recognized and was aware of the way iMessage attracts and keeps users. It discusses how, as early as 2013, Apple decided not to develop a version of iMessage for Android that could “have been cross-compatibility with the iOS platform so that users of both platforms would have been able to exchange messages with one another seamlessly.”

This didn’t happen as Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering and the executive in charge of iOS, and Phil Schiller, an Apple executive in charge of the App Store, agreed that they should not offer iMessage for Android. Federighi said, “iMessage on Android would simply serve to remove [an] obstacle to iPhone families giving their kids Android phones.” 

The document also mentions how a former Apple employee commented in 2016 that the “most difficult [reason] to leave the Apple universe app is iMessage…iMessage amounts to serious lock-in” to the Apple ecosystem…”

In September 2022, Apple CEO Tim Cook made headlines when a clip of Vox Media’s LiQuan Hunt talked about how his mother has an Android to his Apple, how his mother couldn’t see the videos he sent her, and how it makes communication difficult. To that, Cook replied, “Buy your mom an iPhone.”

Google kicked off a #GetTheMessage campaign in August of 2022 to get Apple to adopt Rich Communications Services (RCS), which is supposed to replace SMS and MMS. RCS was introduced in 2007 to compete with over-the-top channels (OTT), which means channels in addition to basic messaging channels. In 2008, development was taken over by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA). Still, it didn’t gain traction until 2019, when Google started releasing RCS to Android users, and then in 2020, Samsung started utilizing it as well. RCS allows users to send high-resolution photos and videos, read receipts, attach larger files, and send longer text messages. It incorporates a lot of the features that users love about iMessage. 

This September, Apple “got the message” and released its latest update, iOS 18. This update introduced many new features, including Apple’s addition of RCS to iMessage. This allows users to react to messages, send high-quality videos and images, and add and remove members from group chats. RCS also supports delivery and read receipts, as well as a typing indicator.

Apple chose a base model of RCS, meaning that the messages are not end-to-end encrypted. In addition, users have to manually turn on RCS in their settings. The big thing, however, is that the text bubbles will still be green. So, while Apple adding RCS starts addressing some of the separation created by iMessage, the green bubble stigma will still be around. 

According to Statcounter, iPhone has 57.02% of the Mobile Operating System Market Share in the United States, compared to Android’s 42.68%, making Apple the most popular mobile device brand in the United States. However, Android dominates globally at 71.17%, and Apple sits at 28.33%.

With Android’s global dominance and growing presence in the U.S., seamless communication is more critical than ever. While Apple made a minimal effort by introducing RCS and addressing some communication issues, the reality is that much more needs to be done. Apple must take the next step: fully embrace end-to-end encryption for messages sent to Android and other devices. It’s time to eliminate the artificial distinction of the “green bubble” and make all texts appear in the same color. Apple’s continued reliance on this outdated stigma only reinforces division—it’s time they prioritize universal, frictionless communication over unnecessary exclusivity. 

Graphic: Sophia Nitsche’25