There’s a new iMessage-client app for Android that promises to bring blue bubbles to your smartphone without tricks or a Mac server in the middle. While you might be skeptical at first – believe me, after Nothing’s announcement and that other app that raised security concerns, I was too – this looks to have solved the ultimate issue on message exchanges between iPhone and Android devices.
Starting today, Beeper is launching Beeper Mini, which not only turns your green bubbles into blue but also works with several iMessage perks, such as:
- Send and receive blue bubble messages from your Android phone number.
- Full-size photos and videos, plus replies and reactions.
- Join iPhone-only group chats.
- Secure and private, with end-to-end encryption.
- Sync existing iMessages across multiple Android or iOS devices, including Macbooks and iPads.
- Read receipts, typing indicators, emoji reactions, and media galleries.
The app requires a subscription, costing $2/month, but it doesn’t even need your Apple ID and password, as your phone number is more than enough. To The Verge, Eric Migicovsky, CEO of Beeper, explained how his company was able to develop the app.
Behind Beeper Mini: The perfect iMessage client for Android users
According to the publication, a 16-year-old high school student sent a message to Migicovsky at the beginning of the year saying they could reverse engineer Apple’s iMessage, allowing any device to send messages as blue bubbles. His findings became the foundation of this new app.
Migicovsky explains that what sets this app apart is the fact that it operates in a fundamentally different way than other iMessage-client apps, as they figured out how to register a phone number with iMessage, send messages to Apple’s servers, and have messages sent back to their phones natively inside the app.
In addition, the CEO thinks Apple won’t shut off this iMessage client, as he says he doesn’t use any code by Cupertino in his app – and it would be very difficult for Apple to cut Beeper off without also breaking iMessage for genuine Apple devices.
Lastly, he says Beeper Mini’s iMessage code will be open source for others to review, as he knows some people will have security concerns.
Wrap up
While we don’t know how the RCS integration with iMessage will work in 2024, at least Android users can bypass the green bubble with this app – and, so far – it looks better than anyone could expect.
