1y ago

Is having an Android really a deal-breaker for some people?

I asked if people chose iPhone for the blue bubbles elsewhere a couple days ago, and while there was some good discourse on that post, the blue bubbles definitely also came up as a reason.

In my experience, when people find out my texts are green, they oftentimes would rather switch to a different platform altogether like Instagram or just not text at all.

Is this actually a deal-breaker in friendships out there?

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I think this must be a cultural thing because no one in the UK sends SMS messages. Everyone just uses WhatsApp or signal or telegram. I'm android and have literally never had anyone mention the colour of my bubble. I didn't know this was a thing!
- I think it’s mostly an US thing. The rest of the world has moved away from SMS.
  
  It's mostly a US thing because Android is the standard pretty much everywhere except the US.
  
  Lol not true
  
  this is definitely not true.
  
  Android makes up over 70% of the global phone market, what's not true?
  
  It definitely is true.
  https://www.statista.com/statistics/272698/global-market-share-held-by-mobile-operating-systems-since-2009/
  
  I use SMS in Denmark with people I don't know personally. Apps like Telegram or WhatsApp aren't common here (yet) unfortunately.
  Everyone has Facebook and uses Messenger. The absolute worst of all the choices..
  
  I would never install any of the Meta shit apps no matter what. I quit FB in 2017 and never looked back
  
  I've tried many times to convert my non-techy friends but it's impossible.
  It's hard to argue with "literally everyone I know uses Messenger".
  
  Well i went the hard route of just uninstalling Whatsapp and FB, they know how to reach me and can call if need to be.
  A big advantage is i can get excited when they show me their vacation pics again and its not the i have already seen those pics on insta/fb.
  Its a bold move and you may feel a bit left out ( i felt like that) but over time you get used to it and it feels kinda relaxing
  
  US haven't moved away from Imperial either 😂
  Americans please
  
  SMS is also basically free in several places, so there's that.
  
  also the case here. but why bother with old crappy sms wen you got 3g,4g and 5g?
- Yeah, this is definitely a US-centric thing. Almost nobody I know (UK) uses SMS as their default, it's usually the last resort before just ringing the person.
  
  I think the only SMS messages I get are from the Doctor.
  
  Mine are just for 2FA.
  
  My mam sends me them sometimes but shes just old lol
  
  Damn, the fact I remember mobile phones before they could even send text messages makes me feel ancient now.
- Wait, this is over SMS!?!? How quaint! I haven't seen anybody use an SMS for anything outside of spam in years!
- I'm from the US and people are using SMS less and less I feel like (though again, I'm biased because Android). Even most of my networking for work is done on Instagram, which to me is incredibly bizarre.
  
  Canada too, but at least we don't rely on whatsapp/meta
- Apart from SMS Auth and occasionally a "NEW FIRE BUD 10/10 stardawg smoke ring me" messages, apart from those SMS is dead..
  You're right on the money with this comment, what a strange country they have over there..
- How old are you? When I studied in Scotland 2016-2020, the preferred messaging app was messenger (i.e. facebook), and I'm curious whether that has changed in the last 3 years or whether it's a different demographic.
- no one in the UK sends SMS messages
  I do, I use stuff like WhatsApp and Discord too mainly of course, but an SMS is fast and reliable, as opposed to the others that require a decent data signal on both the sender and receiver (which is often lacking on my network unfortunately).
  Plus, I can schedule SMS messages for a particular time so as to not wake the recipient up if I want to send them a message in the middle of the night, very handy!
  Plus, I can theme my SMS app however I want, changing colours, fonts, etc, to be exactly what I like, as well as picking out an SMS app that has the features I'm looking for in the first place (I recommend Chomp). I find applications like WhatsApp to be extremely limited in this regard. Not a deal breaker, but I do love customisability and choice.
  I certainly don't use SMS anywhere near as much as Discord, but it's wonderful to have it, and I use it regularly :-D
  P.S I've wanted to use Signal for years but nobody I meet uses it :-( Such a shame, it seems neat!
  P.P.S Telegram looks neat too, unfortunately again the adoption with people I know is strangely just 100% furries and nobody else, so I stick to the client that everybody uses rather than having a bunch of them installed (Discord & occasionally WhatsApp).
  
  Fair enough! Maybe it depends on where you live, too. My parents live in rural Cornwall so if I send an SMS they might not get it for a few days (no signal where they live) but their WiFi is good so they'll definitely get a WhatsApp (or other) message.

750 comments