Green Bubbles: How Apple Quietly Gets iPhone Users To Hate Android Users
from the design-choices-matter dept
Paul Ford, once again, has written up something fascinating. He discusses something I had no idea happened: when an iPhone user texts with another iPhone user using iMessage, the outgoing texts appear in calm blue bubbles. When an iPhone user texts with a non-iPhone user (or an iPhone user using something other than iMessage -- meaning mainly Android users, obviously), those outgoing texts are in a harsh green. Here are the two examples Paul shows, starting with the iPhone to iPhone:
Ford, then goes into a really interesting discussion on the nature of product management and design choices -- the kind of thing that Apple doesn't do on a whim -- to get to the real point: Apple is likely choosing harsh, ugly green bubbles on purpose. As a petty way to put down Android users:
Beyond highlighting Apple's apparent pettiness (and lack of ability to allow users to customize things for themselves), it also highlights how very minor design decisions do matter in a fairly big way. I recognize that some people like to get into tech fanboy wars: iPhone v. Android, Mac v. Windows v. Linux, Playstation v. Xbox, etc. That's going to happen, even if it mostly seems like a waste of time. But, really, using subtle design choices to highlight and further such fights seems to show such a childish attitude to competition. Good competitors focus on making their own products better, not demeaning the competition. It's when they run out of good ideas that the focus shifts to attacking the competition. Apple has done so many things right with the iPhone in pushing the barriers of innovation, it would be better if they just focused on making the overall customer experience better, rather than trying to offer subtle digs at non-iPhone users.Apple must know by now that the people of the blue bubbles make fun of the people of the green. And I guess if I worked at Apple I’d be pretty psyched with this reaction. After all, what is a more powerful brand amplifier than social pressure? If people who converse in green bubbles start to feel relatively poor, or socially inferior, because they chose to use a less-expensive pocket supercomputer than those made by Apple, that could lead to iPhone sales. Ugly green bubbles = $$$$$ and promotions.
But I think the ugly green bubbles are the result of a mean-spirited, passive-aggressive product decision, marketed in a mean-spirited way. Certainly it’s not a crisis in capitalism. This is not to say that Google is good and Apple is bad; they’re both enormous structures that have so much power that they can manufacture their own realities (except for Google Glass, then not so much).
The bubbles are a subtle, little, silly thing but they are experienced by millions of people. That amplifies that product descision into a unsubtle, large, serious-yet-still silly thing. The people who are tweeting about green bubbles are following Apple’s lead. It’s not unprecedented; Apple has done stuff like this before, like giving Windows machines on its network a “Blue Screen of Death” icon. But people spend so much time texting that it adds up.
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Filed Under: android, design choices, green bubbles, imessage, sms
Companies: apple
Reader Comments
The First Word
“Re: looks like a molehill to me
I'm with the coward on this one. I am an interface designer, and I don't think Apple is trying to send any negative message with the green. Think about how green is used in our environment: green means go; green means thriving plant life; green means living ecologically and sustainably; green mean all systems operational; and green literally means "right" (starboard) when it comes to boats.What I think happened is that blue was introduced and it was so much better (no 160 character limits, emojis supported, free, etc) that people started to associated inferior with green. Much like the word president when it was adopted was actually chosen specifically because it was a humble, meager title. Yet the meaning we infer from it changes based on the context and reality,
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Blue team is clueless so take them out first. Green team will provide pockets of resistance so save those for last.
Let move out!
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(Yes, it wasn't the exact same green as before the interface overhaul, but iMessage was introduced in the pre-iOS7 look and the green bubbles for SMS stayed the same.)
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Re:
If you have a group conversation with other iPhone users and you include an Android user, any media (pictures/video) will be severely degraded for *all* of the people involved.
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Re: looks like a molehill to me
What I think happened is that blue was introduced and it was so much better (no 160 character limits, emojis supported, free, etc) that people started to associated inferior with green. Much like the word president when it was adopted was actually chosen specifically because it was a humble, meager title. Yet the meaning we infer from it changes based on the context and reality,
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Re: Re: looks like a molehill to me
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Re: Re: Re: looks like a molehill to me
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Re: Re: Re: Re: looks like a molehill to me
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Re: Re: Re: looks like a molehill to me
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Re: Re: looks like a molehill to me
The Nazis. The KGB. The People's Communist Party.
Sorry to Godwin, but that's the truth. Propaganda is more subtle these days, but its reasons for existing most certainly are not.
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Re: Re: looks like a molehill to me
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Makes sense as long as we ignore history
Except prior to iMessage all text messages were sent over SMS and were in green bubbles. If this is really Apple pettiness then it has to be one of the longest well planned out move of pettiness in history.
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Re: Makes sense as long as we ignore history
So why didn't they switch them all to the more attractive blue? And was it the same shade of green that it is now, or a more pleasant one?
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Re: Re: Makes sense as long as we ignore history
They may also have picked a calming blue because when iMessage first came out it was a buggy troublesome piece of crap for many users. A more calming color may have help acceptance. It's gotten much better since then.
You can do a Google image search for "iphone text message" to see plenty of examples. Both the SMS and iMessage colors got darker when they switched from glossy rounded bubbles to flat colors. But that changes wasn't in connection with iMessage, but a separate interface overhaul.
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Re: Re: Makes sense as long as we ignore history
Grey - outbound messages
Green - SMS
Blue - iMessage
SMS messages are green because it appears they have always been green historically, as such it makes more sense to give iMessages a new colour and leave the SMS messages as is, or tweaked slightly as some have stated (I've never owned an Apple product so I don't know).
Actually I've just looked at Hangouts on my Nexus 5.
Outbound Hangouts Message - Green
Inbound SMS / Hangouts Message - White
Outbound SMS - White
In this case I think this is much less a case of Apple being nefarious and more a case of some Apple fans being truly moronic.
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Re: Re: Re: Makes sense as long as we ignore history
Those who associate the colour with android obviously have more reliable iMessage than I do, because I find many idevice users revert from iMessage to SMS and back again fairly often and there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason as to when - though I'm guessing it depends on whose lines they are using at that particular instant.
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Gee, thanks, Apple! And I didn't even get you anything.
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Re:
I'm not sure it is Apple so much as Apple users who are petty. Most of my friends have iPhones, and I prefer an Android, partly because I own the phone and the OS, and everything running on it, and don't have to kiss someone's ring if I want to install something that isn't sanctioned. Yet I've never heard anyone say that my SMS messages piss them off.
I think what we have here is a small but vocal pretentious crowd of iPhone cultists. The same type of cultists you have surrounding horribly inefficient and more destructive to the environment Prius drivers who won't talk to you because you drive a gasoline-powered or battery-powered vehicle and not a hybrid.
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Someone's showing bias here...
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Re: Someone's showing bias here...
And I have to agree, specifically with the white text on it.
#GreenBubblesPride anyone?
(Personally, I have a feature phone and only started using text messages in the last year, so my opinion likely isn't very relevant.)
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When you text with another iPhone user using iMessage, the outgoing texts appear in "harsh" blue bubbles. When an iPhone user texts with an Android user, those outgoing texts are in a "calm" green.
Your employer's war with Apple is hilarious.
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Re:
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Nice theory
IIRC those text bubbles have been green since at least iOS3. iMessage was new in iOS5, so the blue bubbles would only have shown up 2 years later.
I can sort of see them not wishing to change things for the reasons outlined, ie out of some malicious consideration towards Android users. I can also see them not changing the green bubbles simply because SMS on iOS has 'always' been green. This is a much simpler explanation that doesn't require an assumption of malice.
This therefore seems to be quite far fetched:
"Apple is likely choosing harsh, ugly green bubbles on purpose. As a petty way to put down Android users: "
There's plenty of reasons to complain about Apple without having to make stuff up. ;-)
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Re: Nice theory
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Re: Re: Nice theory
"I see something I don't like, let me invent a reason it's malicious!" instead of "I see something I don't like, I wonder why it's that way?"
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Re: Nice theory
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What's happened since then, is that social groups tend to use the same devices. iPhone users tend to associate with other iPhone users, Android users the same. This is a pretty broad generalization, but it fits.
This means that iMessage users interact less frequently with SMS users and think that the green bubble is the exception. When in fact, it's the other way.
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Re:
Translation: I completely made this fact up, but it sounds right to me. :-)
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Re: Re:
As for the green... I use a classifc Fallout theme for my SMS application. Explain that.
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Re: Re: Re:
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words
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Re: words
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Re: words
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Hmm, I see a trend there.
Notice something all the whiners have in common? They're all persons who are likely to wear makeup. Yes, I mean you too, papsito.
I've never seen a better demographic graphic for iFoam user base.
Now look back at your Droid, then back at the pics. Do you care what color they like in their texts?
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...
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this is journalism?
You're slipping, Masnick. The tired old troll line of "Masnick is a Google shill!" seems a lot more plausible now.
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Re:
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it's SMS, not Android
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Re: it's SMS, not Android
/sarcasm
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Re: it's SMS, not Android
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all I got was
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'friends'
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Re: 'friends'
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Why is this news not upsetting me?
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Re:
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Team Green
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The contrast between light-green text and darker-green bubble seems to be somewhat low, that's the only thing I see and it's minor.
Might I add that TextSecure (the technically most advanced encrypted messaging app) also does a coloured distinction for sms (green) vs push message (blue).
Granted, it does this to distinguish encrypted and plaintext on top.
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iPhone to iPhone messages will revert to the green bubbles if the iMessages don't go through on a data connection. The different colours are so you can easily see at a glance if the message has gone through data or SMS. Since iMessage is an Apple service, it will never turn blue on another device (though it may turn green on an iPhone). Not only that, but IIRC all messages used to be green (indicating SMS), so all they've done is introduce a new colour for iMessages. You'' see green if iMessage is not working for any reason - lack of data connection, multiple failed attempts and iMessage being turned off - that have nothing to do with using a different device.
As is often the case, Apple's default app has many alternatives (mostly cross-platform) you can use to communicate if Apple's app annoys you. What an amazing non-story.
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Green one of the worlds favorite color
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I have the solution for all the petty iPhone users out there...
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those people who subscribe to the green=bad idea don't appear to be real people anyway, so it's a wash.
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No
People who use iMessage like communicating with iMessage users because it is a better experience. This improved experience cannot be accomplished with SMS.
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:(
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interesting
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Re: interesting
Not for this nerd. That color combination has always been one of the most difficult to read for me.
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The fault here is in the users
However, I think the real issue here isn't anything Apple has done. Apple is just relaying useful information about something that might cost you money without you otherwise noticing. The real issue is the sheer pettiness and cult mentality of a large portion of Apple's user base. Which, to be honest, is something that Apple has been intentionally nurturing since the '80s.
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Re: The fault here is in the users
On competitors' products the user can change the colors if they don't like the defaults.
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Re: Re: The fault here is in the users
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On the flip side.....
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Discrimination based on color
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Re: Discrimination based on color
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Few problems here
Second, this is hardly Apple vs Google. While perhaps Android has the most marketshare of any source of those green bubbles, it's just SMS, so any phone, Android, Windows, etc. would display the same. Even iPhones can generate a green bubble when iMessage is unavailable or turned off.
Third, using an Android phone hardly means you took the cheap way out. My current Android device retails for more than most iPhone models.
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The stupid, it burns!
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Nonsense
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Nonsense
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Why light 00FF00 green...
This is a UI issue.
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Customization is required
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More interesting
However, the colour change conveniently also warns drug dealers when they are sending over unencrypted networks; recall the issue a while ago where law enforcement warned that subpoenas for SMS data would miss a lot of text messages if they went (encrypted) over iMessage.
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Re: More interesting
Which just makes them look stupid, because "Android" is not a brand of phone, and not all Android phones are cheaper than iPhones. If people are using the cost of a device as an indicator of status (which is also idiotic), then they really should be using a high-end Android phone.
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green bubbels are just Android green
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First world problem
Seriously, though, like other people are saying: this is simply a color choice based on whether the text message is sent via iMessage or SMS. Would these complainers prefer another color?
And is Apple really trying to get users to hate Android? Apple has more money than any other company in the world, even more than Google. Why would they stoop to this kind of pettiness? Why would their designers secretly choose a "bad" color? And why didn't they choose red, which is even worse than green?
So, time for Occam's razor: either the designers thought green was close enough to blue to signal a change in text messaging or there's a huge conspiracy to get people to switch to iPhones by using a "bad" color rather than use advertising and marketing.
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Re: First world problem
While I agree that there isn't malicious intent in the color choice, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that Apple has a long history of petty behavior. If this was actually a malicious move on Apple's part, it wouldn't really be out of character.
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Green bubble hatred?
We like blue buttons, but we hate green buttons? Just how childish can you be? It's a visual cue telling you that the messages are handled differently. If it were rounded corners and square corners, would you have your panties in a twist?
There are real problems in the world. This is a *phone*. Get over it.
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As for the Apple pettiness, I do think there is something to it. As the author has pointed out, Apple can be really petty with rivals (like using the BSoD for Windows devices in the network).
And there is also the fact that Apple nuthuggers are some of the most entitled, cultish dicks around. Remember when Instagram (an Apple exclusive) started accepting Android users? Utter hatred and disgust from the iSheep. We greenies are dirty riff-raffs that'll drag down the whole Instagram experience with our mass-market taste and crappy Android cameras.
This hatred of green bubbles is another symptom of Apple fans' superiority complex. Anything different from the iCult is put-down and mocked.
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Green
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The color tells me who is subject to overage charges
I appreciate knowing who isn't subject of overage charges!
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iMessage free, SMS often NOT free
If the iPhone pings the intended recipient and finds another iPhone, it sends an iMessage. If it does not identify an iPhone it sends a text (SMS) message. Sometimes it will fail to identify an iPhone and will send an SMS message because there was no identification. And it has little or nothing to do with Wifi. I can use my cell carrier and send iMessages.
It isn't a subtle war or a cheap shot. It is a way for the sender to see whether a message will incur a cost or not.
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It's not easy being green
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look like Punk green to me
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MS
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Re: MS
Or, you know, the SMS app that's being criticised in the article - it already works on all platforms, it just works slightly differently on the iPhone depending on who you are communicating with. Yes, even Windows users can talk with them.
But, hey, Microsoft are the "innovators" so they'll be right on top of that "new" solution, I'm sure...
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With Apple's you-don't-certify-if-we-say-so policy...
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Re: With Apple's you-don't-certify-if-we-say-so policy...
...do you think Microsoft would get an even break on iTunes?
Does Apple still block apps that compete too directly with Apple?
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Re: Re: With Apple's yo
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Apple and Microsoft both
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I never even noticed until now... and quite frankly I could care less now that I noticed.
I have both an iPhone 4 and an LG android phone.
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statistics to support success in Green Bubble caper
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Very disappointed
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Great
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Stupid.
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the Green is hard on my eyes
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imessage
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Re: imessage
Maybe you should instruct them to call you instead of sending text messages.
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Green/blue bubbles
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iMessage = End-to-end encryption
Take off your tinfoil hat now, please.
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I would rather have AIDS and Ebola mixed together than own an iPhone
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