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Comment by shiroiushi | Hacker News Reader

>So if you strip away the artificially gate-kept services like iMessage, why should anyone who isn't tied in the Apple ecosystem spend a lot more on an iPhone?

No one in Europe cares about iMessage: that's a US-only issue (and Canada). People outside North America don't use SMS texting with their friends and family like Americans do.

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We kind of still do in Europe, but that is SMS are mostly free even pre-paid packets have lots of them, and there isn't data coverage all over the place, so if we want a guarantee that someone sees a message on time, SMS instead of Whatapps/Viber/.... is preferable.

> and there isn't data coverage all over the place

> so if we want a guarantee that someone sees a message on time, SMS instead of Whatapps/Viber/.... is preferable.

Do you understand what this works only with 2G, 3G networks? A proper 4G is data-only one, so the SMS there are emulated over a data link.

SMS generally will deliver quicker and with more reliability in low reception scenarios. I've been in places with 1 bar of reception where data barely works so the likes of WhatsApp/Messenger/Signal/etc is hit and miss, whereas SMS just works. On Apple devices iMessage has a fall back availiable to pure SMS. This is less of an issue with modern LTE networks (which performs much better with low signal) but this was quite common in the GSM and UMTS days. Depending on where you go there may still be legacy UMTS/GSM only coverage.

Plenty of those around Europe still.

I’m in Europe (Poland). I only miss other people not having iMessage when dealing with recruiters, because a sizable portion of them are from abroad and replying to their texts costs money (roaming laws do not cover it).

Which self respecting recruiters text you on SMS? I've never seen that. They either text me on LinkedIn messenger, direct email or more rarely via WhatsApp but a lot of those seem like scammers.

Texts come in at later stages of discussion, e.g. when I miss their call and need to ask them to call again etc.

Wtf, why? What's wrong with email?

I don't know if he'll read my email right away, which is important if I want him to call me back ASAP.

None of the people I know uses iMessage in Canada. In fact, majority of the people I know uses Android.

Anecdotes aren't data. But literally everyone I know in Canada uses iMessage.

iMessage is pretty big in Australia and New Zealand too.

If a group is 100% Apple possibly. I'm in several social and family chat groups including New Zealanders and some Australians and all these groups are on WhatsApp/Messenger/Signal to ensure everyone can participate as there is a number of Android users in every group I'm involved in. When I used to have an Apple phone I largely used iMessenger for one to one messages since that was the only sensible use of it.

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