I understand, but an iMessages¹-only Messages² is a non-starter at Apple because it causes complexity and customer confusion, two things that Apple is stellar³ at minimizing.
¹protocol ²app ³overall, always exceptions
If you are standing on top of a mountain, right now you can’t send anything.
With Apple’s upcoming announcement, you’ll be able to send an iMessage.
If you try to send a SMS, it just won’t go through—-same as it would today.
I hope Apple allows it for all messages, personally. But I could definitely see them restricting it, especially at the beginning.
I may be confused about the scenario then, because this does work for me. Specifically, when I turn off my cellular radio (I'm a T-Mobile customer) I can still send and receive messages to people not using iDevices.
Right, but the point of an iPhone that can talk to satellites that I'll generally always have at least a low-bitrate IP connection? Because with that, I can text iDevice and Android users alike.
You should complain to your carrier. I'm on at least 5 different active text chains at any given time (family, friend groups, school parents) with a mix of devices, and it all works fine.
> …videos turn to 12 pixel noise…
That's an MMS limitation. If you regularly send videos, you'll want to use WhatsApp or some other non-standards-based messaging app.