Nothing Phone (2) to soon get iMessage support, complete with blue bubbles

If you’re a tech enthusiast, chances are you have already heard of the green vs blue bubbles debate on the internet. While it isn’t really popular in India, Apple’s iMessage is huge in the west, and leaves those texting from an Android phone in the dust by using a separate green colour for their messages.

Unsurprisingly this leads to social issues and while the Android world is left complaining and asking Apple to meet them halfway with solutions like RCS support, the Cupertino-based tech giant continues to reap the benefits of its exclusivity. However, one Android brand is doing things differently – Nothing.

ALSO READ: Nothing OS 2.5 coming soon: What to expect from the next major update

With a new Nothing Chats application coming exclusively to the Nothing Phone (2), users will be able to soon use iMessage to send texts to Apple friends instead of the regular SMSs. This means access to blue bubbles in iMessage as well as some (if not all) iMessage features. Here’s everything you need to know.

What is Nothing Chats?

Nothing Chats is a new app that is being developed by Nothing, the brand behind smartphones like the Nothing Phone (1) and Phone (2). Nothing Chats will initially only come to Phone (2) devices and may be added to the Phone (1) later on.

An instant messaging service with SMS integration, Nothing Chats will likely facilitate instant messaging between any two users with either SMS or internet connectivity, linking accounts with their phone numbers, similar to WhatsApp. However, the highlight of the app is iMessage support.

This means when you text someone on an iPhone, they will see your messages as iMessage messages, complete with blue bubbles. This removes the green bubble barrier and lets users camouflage themselves as iPhone users.

How does the feature work?

Nothing Chats will integrate itself with iMessage via a third-party service called Sunbird. Using Sunbird will mean routing all your incoming and outgoing messages via the service, so users with a knack for privacy may not like the approach. As YouTuber MKBHD explains in his latest video, the service essentially allows you to send a message to a remote Mac Mini which will then relay the message to your Apple friends.

However, Nothing does promise that Sunbird uses a “system to deliver a message from one user to another without ever storing it at any point in its journey,” eliminating third-party servers from the equation.

When will you get it?

Nothing will be bringing Nothing Chats support for Phone (2) users in the US, Europe and some other regions later this month. It still isn’t clear when Phone (1) users will get the feature.

If you’re reading this from India, we still don’t know when the feature will be extended to Asia either. Although, we doubt this would put off many users because of the minimal iMessage usage in these regions.

But if you are someone waiting for the Nothing Chats app, do keep an eye out on the Play Store later this week.