'Get The Message:' Google Roasts Apple With New Mocking 'iPager' Ad To End Green Vs Blue Text Bubbles War

The Google versus Apple text message feud refuses to die down. Now, the Alphabet Inc.-owned GOOG GOOG company has released a new "iPager" commercial that mocks Apple for showing messages from Android in green bubbles.

What Happened: Google has been trying to pressure Apple Inc. AAPL into adopting RCS, a new messaging technology that builds on top of the 30-year-old SMS.

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Its latest attempt, though, mocks Apple for showing texts from Android phones in green bubbles.

Google kicked off its "Get the message" campaign to get Apple to stop showing Android messages in green bubbles. While it hasn't been successful in moving the needle so far, Google's latest commercial mocks the iPhone by equating it to an "iPager".

The sassy commercial also has a throwback to the original 1984 Macintosh and 2007 iPhone ads, with the word "Hello" appearing on the screen of the iPager.

Why It Matters: Green bubbles are a hot issue for Google and other Android phone makers. While Apple already dominates the smartphone industry profits, it is also the biggest smartphone maker in the U.S. by a wide margin.

According to research firm Counterpoint, Apple held a 55% market share at the end of the June 2023 quarter, far ahead of Samsung which had a 23% share.

Green bubbles – text messages from non-iPhone users – do not have typing indicators or reactions, and these messages also don't work well in group chats.

This has led to a dislike for non-iPhone messages amongst iPhone users, and it is visible in buying trends, too. According to a survey by investment firm Piper Sandler, 87% of teens own an iPhone and 88% expect the iPhone to be their next phone.

Google has been desperately trying to solve this and nudge Apple to stop Green Bubbling Android messages, but it hasn't worked so far. The new iOS 17 update still shows Android messages in green bubbles, and it does not look like Apple is going to stop doing this anytime soon, either.

For now, expect Google to come out with more commercials mocking Apple for this.

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