Android: Nothing Chats will allow users to send ‘iMessages’ from Android

Nothing is set to become the first Android brand to offer Apple’s iMessage-like features available exclusively on iPhones. The London-based smartphone maker has introduced a new messaging platform called Nothing Chats that will be available for Nothing Phone (2) users. The Nothing Chats app will be initially launched for the Nothing Phone (2).
In comparison, other iMessage clients on Android have always been developed by third parties and are not distributed by the brand itself.
Nothing Chats: Availability
Nothing Chats app will be available to Nothing Phone (2) users in the US, UK, and the EU starting November 17. However, the company didn’t mention when this app will become available for the older Nothing Phone (1). Nothing also didn’t clarify if it’s planning to build this app into the system directly. Since this is an official offering from Nothing, users won’t be able to download the app from the Play Store.
What is Nothing Chats and how will it work
The Carl Pei-led company explains: “Nothing Chats is an app developed in partnership with Sunbird, which allows you to message other users via blue bubbles. We are currently in a Beta phase, which means more features and improvements are coming down the line. Stay in the loop by signing up for updates.”

Nothing also noted that users will need to log into their respective Apple IDs to set up this app with iMessage. The company also mentioned that chats on this platform will retain their end-to-end encryption and will align with Sunbird’s privacy policy.

The company has also shared a video on YouTube where Nothing CEO and co-founder Carl Pei explains the features of the upcoming app. In this video, Pei outlined that at launch Nothing Chats will support both individual chats and group messages along with typing indicators, full-size media sharing and voice notes. However, read receipts, message reactions, and message replies will not be available at launch and will be “coming soon.”

Apart from iMessage, Nothing Chats will also support Google’s RCS interoperability standards for Phone (2) models.