According to a media report, Facebook is currently seeking to become the default messaging app on iPhones in its most recent set of demands. The report also stated that Facebook already dominates the global messaging market, as it controls three of the most popular messaging platforms.
However, there is a catch: the report was published in 2020, and Facebook’s (now Meta’s) efforts to counteract iMessages’s restriction on iPhones have remained unchanged. What has changed—or is about to—is Apple’s stance. The push for a different default messaging app on iPhones—at least in part—will eventually be realized with the release of iOS 18.2 next month.
iOS 18.2 public beta 3 has been published, providing users with a preview of the numerous Apple Intelligence updates that have been eagerly anticipated following the limited initial set of offerings in iOS 18. However, iOS 18.2 also affirms the default app settings that are a game-changer for iPhone messaging, a significant setback for Google and RCS, and a victory for Meta.
According to Apple, users have the option of selecting an application other than the Messages app to send instant messages in iOS and iPadOS 18.2 and later. When a user selects an im: link from another app, the default messaging app is launched by the system. The iMaker has also provided platforms with instructions on how to “prepare your app to be the default messaging app.”
Meta will be the primary focus of this new default app offering. Make no mistake about it. The only platforms that have the scale across the iPhone’s user base to optimize this opportunity are Messenger and WhatsApp, regardless of whether they are messaging or the default phone app.
The delivery app for SMS messages will not be altered by the iOS 18.2 update. However, iOS already facilitates the delivery of OTPs, and you can access iMessage when necessary. This new default app option is arguably the most significant modification to Apple’s walled garden in terms of fundamental phone functionality. A decision must be made by millions of iPhone users, particularly those in the United States who have a particular fondness for blue bubbles.