A rumor mill is presently making the rounds on the internet, suggesting that Apple could take the wraps off its iMessage for Android at the WWDC 2016.
The report comes from MacDailyNews citing its unnamed source who is said to be familiar with the matter.
"Apple will announce that iMessage encrypted text messaging is coming to Android users at WWDC next Monday at WWDC 2016, according to a source familiar with the company's thinking," reads the report. "This will make it possible for Android and iOS users to communicate securely as iMessage features end-to-end encryption — even Apple cannot access users' messages."
Other Apple Apps On Android
If the report holds true, this is not the first app from Apple to land on Google's flagship operating system. The Cupertino-based firm rolled out the Android version of its Apple Music late last year. But before that, it also made the Move to iOS, an app used in transitioning from an Android device to an iPhone, available for Android users. It also released Beats Pill⁺, which is used to control the Beat Pill speaker.
When Apple Music was announced to arrive on Android devices, Apple's boss Tim Cook said that this app serves as the company's way to test the water before offering more services to other platforms.
Apple's Response
Last month, during the I/O developers conference, Google lifted the veils off its latest messaging app dubbed Allo.
Announced by Google engineer Erik Kay during the event, Allo is the firm's newest offering that integrates Google's other services, ranging from Search, Maps and YouTube. This new cross-platform messaging app (which means that it is available both on iOS and Android devices) comes with a bevy of other neat features. These include its capability to provide so-called smart replies. This likewise enables users to chat with Google's artificial intelligent assistant.
In spite of introducing Allo, though, the company said that it has no plans to kill off Hangouts.
With this Google's latest move, it appears that bringing iMessage to Android could likely be the iPhone maker's response.
Considering, however, that iMessage is among the key assets of iPhones, it is not clear whether Apple really plans to open up this app beyond its own walls. Plus, Apple also revealed a few months ago that iMessage, during peak times, sees 200,000 messages being sent every second.
A report from 9to5Mac believes that it seems that "it would be in Apple's best interest to keep such a popular service locked down to its own ecosystem."
If this speculation eventually turns out to be true, though, then Apple could probably have a good reason to do so.
Since there is nothing official yet at the moment and that MacDailyNews does not boast a solid track record in terms of pushing out accurate predictions regarding Apple's plans, it is always best to take this story with a touch of skepticism. Furthermore, the report also says that its source claims that "plans are constantly in flux" ahead of Apple keynotes — as such, the unveiling date could still change. However, the source also underscores that this Apple service would "definitely" head to Android before this year ends.
