I’ve never owned an iPhone. That’s not to say I’ve never wanted one — as a preteen, I coveted the blocky iPhone 4. But I lived in an Android household, and my Android phone worked fine. Most of the time.
The problems started when I tried to text iPhone users. I couldn’t use iMessage, join group chats with my friends or send high-quality pictures. Worst of all, my text messages appeared in green bubbles. Over ten years later, these problems have only intensified.
This lack of compatibility between Android and Apple products is real, and it’s called the blue bubble vs. green bubble disparity. The roots of this digital divide trace back to the early 2000s when MMS (multimedia messaging services) emerged, allowing users to send images and videos via text. Due to the low quality of MMS photos, Apple created iMessage for iPhone users to exchange high-res photos and videos. But when Android users text with iPhones it reverts to SMS or MMS, resulting in poor-quality pictures and videos and the dreaded green bubble. 
The green bubble doesn’t cause any real technical issues, so what’s the big deal? According to some, it’s social stigma. The green bubble has become a pop culture meme, with many iPhone users suggesting it is a signifier of poor taste or even a dating red flag. Upon being asked “He’s a 10, but…he has an Android phone. What’s his new rating?” many TikTok users responded one or even zero. 
The green bubble disparity goes beyond dating. Young teens and preteens may be excluded from group chats or teased for not having an iPhone.
“When you’re shaming kids for the phone that they are using and you’re leaving them out of activities and homework…It’s a form of bullying,” the New York Times’s Brian Chen told Marketplace Tech.
A few years ago, Android adopted RCS (Rich Communication Services), a universal communication standard developed by the EU’s Global Smartphone Management Agency (GSMA). RCS allows all users to exchange high-res photos and videos — unless one of them has an iPhone. 
Apple could easily adopt RCS to replace SMS in Android threads without impacting texting between Apple devices. But despite criticism, the company has refused. In 2022, a Vox reporter complained to Apple CEO Tim Cook that his mother couldn’t see the videos he sent her because Apple doesn’t support RCS. Cook’s solution? “Buy your mom an iPhone.” 
Sorry Tim, but not everyone can buy an iPhone, and not everyone wants to join the cult of Apple. It may feel like the default option in the United States, where Apple’s iOS operating system holds 54% of the smartphone subscriber market share, compared to Android’s 45%. But globally, iOS only makes up 28% of the market share, while Android leads the pack with over 70%. The majority of smartphones aren’t iPhones, making Apple’s intentional incompatibility with other operating systems even more perplexing.
Last November, Apple finally announced plans to introduce RCS support in late 2024. “We believe RCS Universal Profile will offer a better interoperability experience when compared to SMS or MMS,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement shared with The Verge. 
Maybe Cook suddenly had a change of heart, but in all likelihood, Apple’s sudden backpedaling is in reaction to the EU’s new Digital Markets Act, which would require Apple to support RCS. Basically, the EU has forced Apple’s hand. 
The change means Android users will no longer have to deal with blurry pixelated images from iPhones, and group chats should work better. But this doesn’t mean Apple is opening iMessage to other platforms, and the curse of the green bubble isn’t going anywhere. 
To make matters worse for Android-toting youth, according to data reported by the Financial Times, Gen Z makes up 34% of iPhone users and only 10% of Samsung users. Younger people are more likely to have iPhones, making Android users stand out at an age where many just want to fit in. Being left out of group chats or having difficulties sharing photos may seem trivial on the surface, but these experiences carry real emotional weight. 
I don’t usually think about my lack of an iPhone as a problem. For weeks or months, I may forget about the issue entirely. But every once in a while, I’m rudely reminded that Apple is the default. I’ve been excluded from group chats and viewed more than my fair share of pixelated photos. I’ve never been explicitly made fun of for having an Android, beyond light joking. Still, the lack of compatibility between Apple and Android devices has impacted me in real ways, and it is a completely solvable issue that should have been resolved years ago. 
By ignoring the needs of a significant portion of the population for years, Apple has perpetuated digital exclusion and contributed to a culture where access to certain technologies is a marker of societal standing. Apple’s adoption of RCS is a step in the right direction, but it may be too little too late.

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