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The whole saga between Beeper Mini and Apple this past week has been pretty entertaining to watch. And now we’re entering chapter 3 of this saga – the Return of Beeper Mini.
On Monday afternoon, Beeper Mini announced it was working again, using another workaround to get iMessage on Android. But it is only a matter of time before Apple shuts it down once again. Really what Beeper is doing here is helping Apple make iMessage a lot more secure than it already was.
With this new update for Beeper Mini, users will need to sign in with their Apple ID to register their device with iMessage. Previously, it would automatically register your phone number with iMessage, with no Apple ID needed. So now, the blue bubbles will come to and from your email address. It’s not as convenient, obviously, but it’s how it has to work for now.
Beeper has said that it is working on restoring phone number registration with iMessage.
Beeper Mini is now going to be free to use. Beeper wrote in a blog post on Monday that “things have been a bit chaotic, and we’re not comfortable subjecting paying users to this.” When Beeper Mini launched last week, it was charging users $2 per month to use the app, however everyone got a seven-day free trial – which means that no one has paid for the service anyways.
Beeper Mini and Apple are playing a cat-and-mouse game
No matter how many times Beeper Mini comes up with fixes for iMessage on Android, Apple is going to block and patch those attempts. But why? Well, the reason that Apple will give us is security. However, Beeper did object to Apple’s stance, stating that they would share the entire codebase with “a mutually agreed-upon third-party security research firm.”
What is the real reason why Beeper Mini will continue to be blocked by Apple? The iPhone. For Apple, a big selling point is iMessage. And if that is made available on Android, that could cost them a lot of iPhone sales, which Apple is not willing to give up.
Many will compare this to Google offering most of its services on other platforms, like Chrome, Gmail, YouTube, and much more on iPhone, and even paying Apple $18 billion per year to be the default search engine. But that’s a bit different than what Apple is doing here. Google makes almost all of its money from Search. So, no matter the platform, they want you to use their search engine. Apple, on the other hand, makes most of its money from selling hardware – like the iPhone.
I’m willing to bet that this new workaround for Beeper Mini won’t last more than 24 hours.
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