Apple’s iMessage is the company’s take on SMS and instant messaging, but unfortunately it is pretty much limited to users of iOS and macOS devices. However it seems that at one in time Apple had actually wanted carriers to adopt its iMessage platform in hopes of making it a new standard.This is according to former Apple exec Scott Forstall who told The Wall Street Journal (via AppleInsider) that Apple had actually tried to pitch the idea to carriers. “We approached the carriers to pursue adding features to the existing texting systems and removing the additional customer costs. For various reasons, from the difficulty of extending the existing standards, to challenges with interoperability between texting systems and carriers, to the desire of carriers to protect a significant revenue stream, these explorations didn’t pan out.”
We have to wonder if had carriers adopted iMessage, how different the mobile landscape could look today. During the early days of smartphones and instant messaging apps, various carriers bemoaned how they were losing revenue they could have made if SMS and MMS had continued to be used by customers.
We’re not sure if Apple plans on trying to pitch such an idea again, but we suppose it’s not such a big deal if they didn’t. After all there are plenty of instant messengers out there that are more than capable of getting the job done.