[g0atbutt]

The funniest outcome with this whole “Apple vs. Beeper” saga would be if Apple said, “Fine use the iMessage protocol. We won’t break interoperability and you can even have full feature parity…

BUT… Any messages sent this way will still show up as the dreaded “Green Bubble”.

(I hope Eric and the Beeper team can pull through!)

[kbf]

Messages sent via SMS or iMessage already look identical to the recipient, the only distinguishing feature is a small header at the top of the conversation that says either "Text message" or "iMessage".

[quantumsequoia]

SMS doesn't support emoji reactions, read receipts, typing indicators, high quality pictures/video, or groupchats over 10 people. These are deal-breaker for anyone that texts regularly

[rpmisms]

If the green bubble (or teal bubble or whatever) works with iMessage, I will be happy. It's about the functionality, not the status symbol.

For many people, it is about not looking like a brokie to their peers, and that's what apple counts on.