This app brings iMessage to Android, and you can sign up to use it right now
What you need to know
- Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky has introduced a new universal messaging app called Beeper.
- The chat app supports nearly all the popular messaging services out there, including WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal.
- It also uses "some trickery" to allow Apple's iMessage to work on Android, Windows, and Linux platforms.
A new universal chat app called Beeper promises to bring you a unified inbox for 15 of the most popular messaging services out there, including Apple's iMessage. The app has been developed by a team that includes Eric Migicovsky, founder of former smartwatch brand Pebble.
Announcing the launch of the app on Twitter, Migicovsky said the app makes it possible for iMessage to work on Android, Windows, and Linux devices "using some trickery." Until now, iMessage has been available only on Apple's own devices. However, it is important to note that Beeper is a subscription service with a $10 monthly fee.
New app alert: I've been working on Beeper for a while and today we're launching! It's a single app to chat on iMessage, WhatsApp, and 13 other networks. Been using it as my default chat client for the last 2 years and there is NO going back. Check it out https://t.co/vjAtnYvdhS pic.twitter.com/rJ39rPFixbNew app alert: I've been working on Beeper for a while and today we're launching! It's a single app to chat on iMessage, WhatsApp, and 13 other networks. Been using it as my default chat client for the last 2 years and there is NO going back. Check it out https://t.co/vjAtnYvdhS pic.twitter.com/rJ39rPFixb— Eric Migicovsky (@ericmigi) January 20, 2021January 20, 2021
An FAQ page on Beeper's website reveals the universal app has two ways of getting iMessage to work on Android, Windows, and Linux. If you own a Mac that's always connected to the internet, you can install the Beeper app on it to act as a bridge. If you don't have a Mac, Beeper says it will send each user a Jailbroken iPhone with the Beeper app installed to bridge to iMessage.
The app currently offers support for fifteen chat networks: WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, iMessage, Android Messages, Telegram, Twitter, Slack, Hangouts, Instagram, Skype, IRC, Matrix, Discord, Signal, and Beeper network. Support for more chat networks will be coming in the near future, along with a dark mode.
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