Apple may have just thrown a wrench in the works for Beeper, the new app that promised Android users access to Apple’s exclusive iMessage service.
Beeper Mini users began reporting malfunctions last Friday, a mere seven days following the app’s debut. This sudden setback has led to speculation about Apple’s potential involvement in the issue. Beeper’s unique selling point was its ability to bring Apple’s exclusive messaging service to Android devices, a feature that was short-lived.
Eric Migicovsky, the chief of Beeper, in an interview with The Verge, did not dismiss the possibility that Apple might be behind the service disruption. While Beeper has officially attributed the problem to an internal failure, the timing and nature of the issue have raised questions about Apple’s role.
In response to this situation, Beeper’s developers are working on a solution. However, it’s still in development. As an interim measure, they have deregistered users’ phone numbers from iMessage. This action is intended to ensure that messages continue to be delivered via SMS. The transition from iMessage to SMS could take between 6 to 24 hours, during which time users might miss messages.
Beeper’s initial promise was to integrate iMessage into its universal messenger service by reverse engineering Apple’s protocol. The technical details of this process were shared on their blog, explaining the app’s structure and functionality.
Despite these challenges, Beeper is extending its 7-day free trial period by an additional week. After this extended trial, the service will cost $2 per month. However, the app’s reception has been lukewarm, with an average rating of 2.1 stars from approximately 2100 reviews on Google’s Play Store.
In a statement, Beeper expressed gratitude and regret: “We thank you for your patience during this unexpected issue. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the interruption of our iMessage connection and are committed to resolving this as quickly as possible.”
