The Decision Memo·Free newsletter

Every decision, on one page.

One email per episode: the decision memo, the three exhibits that matter most, and what didn't make it into the video.

From MacGregor Hill, host of Why It Shipped.

Decision memoNo. 001·Apple·iMessage

Keep iMessage on Apple devices only

Decided · 2013

Decision: Do not pursue iMessage for Android; keep the service exclusive to Apple devices.
Decided by: Apple leadership. The record shows Cue and Federighi debating it in 2013.
Optimizing for: iPhone differentiation and the value of owning several Apple devices together.
What they gave up: The chance to make iMessage a cross-platform messaging network.
The alternative: Build iMessage for Android and compete to become the standard.
What it changed: A delivery-system indicator became an ecosystem boundary, and a social signal.

whyitshipped.com/1

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