Well, let’s be more specific: iMessage technically doesn’t work on Android devices. But if there’s a will there’s a way. And some very smart people decided they really wanted to use iMessage on Android devices, so they made it possible. But before throwing down hundreds of dollars on an iPhone 12, you might want to try using a third-party app to get iMessage working on your Android phone. We’ll run through how you can do that in a moment. First, a little more background on why iMessages don’t work on Android devices. Android users are stuck with standard SMS text messages, MMS data messages, and apps like WhatsApp. So why all the kerfuffle? What makes iMessages so great? In many ways iMessages are the same as regular messages that you might use on any modern cell phone. But there are a few important differences:
iMessages have end-to-end encryption built in automatically. You can read and send iMessages on your Apple computer, your Macbook, your iPad, and more by syncing your devices. iMessage allows you to send special stickers and effects, like exploding confetti when you send “Congratulations.” When your iMessage successfully sends you’ll see a little text saying “Delivered” below the message. When the recipient has seen the message, it will change to “Read.” These are called read receipts. A feature called Live Typing lets you see when the other person is typing with a little “…” symbol at the bottom of the message history.
If you want to learn more about the differences between iMessage and other text messages, read our handy guide on the topic. But before we dive into this, we want to say up front: you do need an Apple computer or other device to do this. This is because you’ll actually be routing iMessages through the Apple device to your phone. Let’s walk through the process. First, let’s make sure you have the right equipment. System requirements for AirMessage:
A Mac computer that runs macOS 10.10 Yosemite or newer. An Android device that runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow or newer.
That might seem like a lot of steps, but for those who really want iMessage on their Samsung Galaxy Note10 (or other Android phone), it will be worth it. Plus, it costs you nothing. Because your messages are being routed through your computer, you may notice that your iMessages show up on other people’s phones as being sent from your email address, rather than your telephone number.
