The long-awaited finish of the inexperienced bubble
Apple appears all set to launch iOS 18.2 subsequent week, bringing the long-awaited launch of feature-rich Apple Intelligence instruments held again from iOS 18’s launch within the fall. But the subsequent iPhone firmware launch additionally brings probably the most shocking replace in years—a change to how your iPhone works and—lastly—an finish to these pesky inexperienced bubbles.
The saga of inexperienced bubbles versus blue bubbles may be very a lot an American factor—the US has been the one vital market which has held WhatsApp at bay, and clearly when your complete social community strikes to WhatsApp—whether or not on iPhone or Android, all customers look the identical. It’s refreshingly democratic and socially leveling.
That stated, Americans are attempting it. Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg celebrated WhatApp hitting the 100 million US customers milestone in the summertime, and people of you within the US can have observed the billboards and Modern Family adverts mentioning the advantages of seamless, safe cross-platform messaging.
None of which really killed the inexperienced bubbles. It appears that it will come down to 2 authorities gamers—China’s Ministry of State Security and America’s FBI. The Chinese began it—not really MSS themselves, however one among its arm’s size hacking teams which managed to infiltrate US telco networks. The FBI then understandably warned that US residents ought to cease sending unsecured textual content messages.
That’s what these inexperienced bubbles are in fact. They weren’t really designed to differentiate social standing amongst teen and gen-z customers. What they really spotlight it an absence of end-to-end encryption. To put it merely, blue is safe and inexperienced just isn’t. It doesn’t matter if it’s old skool SMS inexperienced or new child on the block RCS inexperienced. Blue continues to be safe and inexperienced continues to be not. And so, when the FBI warns Americans to cease sending unsecured textual content messages, they imply inexperienced bubbles.
Cue Apple and that shocking replace. iOS 18.2—now anticipated subsequent week—will permit iPhone customers to vary default apps for the primary time. Importantly, this contains your cellphone dialer and messenger, the very two apps the FBI and CISA have identified ought to be encrypted if in any respect doable. As you’ll all know by now, given the headlines over the past 72-hours, customary community calls or messages between Androids and iPhones are by no means end-to-end encrypted.
And so, following the logic, iPhone customers ought to change their default dialer and messenger to WhatsApp or Signal or different absolutely secured choices. Apple presents FaceTime for calls and iMessage for texts, however each solely safe iPhone-to-iPhone, in order that doesn’t work. In one respect, the timing of iOS 18.2 couldn’t be higher, however in one other—maybe for Apple and for Google’s RCS push, it couldn’t be worse.
Not everybody will do that, in fact. But many will. Especially given the FBI warning making headlines throughout the US within the wake of Salt Typhoon’s ongoing Chinese hacks, and with no agency finish in sight. If some customers do change, if sufficient customers do change, then maybe we are able to finish the inexperienced bubble nonsense as soon as and for all. The bubbles would nonetheless be inexperienced if texting Android to iPhone from iMessage—however in the event you’re utilizing a completely encrypted platform as your default as a substitute, this turns into irrelevant.
As we entered 2024, I instructed that it might be the yr messaging modified ceaselessly, however I didn’t count on it to run fairly like this. We actually are in uncharted territory, and can watch with curiosity to see what occurs by December as customers reply to the community hacking information and the fallout that may inevitably observe.
What we actually want is the inexperienced bubbles to show blue, for RCS to be absolutely secured as an alternative choice for customers. But regardless of the GSMA and Google engaged on this, it’s not but in sight, not like iOS 18.2 which is now simply days away.
