Home Internet, Software & Apps This new Beeper Mini app brings iMessage to Android, and with the blue bubbles

This new Beeper Mini app brings iMessage to Android, and with the blue bubbles

By Marcia Sekhose -

Published On: December 6, 2023

Highlights

Beeper Mini is an Android app that you can use to send messages to iMessage.
You can send messages, photos, videos, location and more through the app.
For iPhone users, the experience will seem like chatting with another iPhone user.

Nothing made it possible to chat with iPhone users with a new app called 'Nothing Chats'. The excitement was short-lived though as the app was removed due to alleged privacy issues. But fret not as there's another new app that will let you iMessage iPhone users, and this one's still available on the Play Store.

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Beeper Mini app — iMessage for Android

Beeper Mini, a new messaging app by the startup Beeper, lets you chat text iMessage users without having to switch to an iPhone. The best part about this app is that it supports blue bubbles, the one distinction between Android and iPhone users. Beeper Mini isn't free though so you'll have to pay Rs 130/month in India. But it does offer a free trial for seven days so you can try it out before purchasing the app.

Beeper Mini: how to use, features

You can get started with Beeper Mini by downloading it from the Google Play Store. You'll have to login with your Google account, and connect your phone number to iMessage.
You can also choose to login with your Apple ID on the app. We tried it with a Google account and phone number.
The app's UI is pretty simple with just a layout for your chats, a shortcut button for new chat, and the search bar on top. The settings button is on top along with your profile icon just next to it.
You can choose between the light or dark theme for the app, and also choose to edit your profile's name and DP.
We tried using the app to text iPhone users, and it works as expected. The messages are sent to iMessage, and you can also send photos, videos, emojis, files, location and contacts. You can also send voice recordings, and start group chats with iPhone users.
For the iPhone user, the experience is going to feel like messaging another iPhone user. It even shows the typing indicator when the Android user is typing a message. So the app is more cross-platform functionality, and not exactly the visual experience. It is a fun way though to make people think that you're texting from an iPhone.

How is this possible?

Beeper made this possible by reverse-engineering the iMessage protocol. "So Beeper Mini doesn't use a Mac server as a relay like all the other apps — they have a Mac Mini in a data centre somewhere. And when you send a message, you're actually sending a message to the Mac Mini, which then forwards it to iMessage," Beeper co-founder and CEO Eric Migicovsky was quoted as saying by TechCrunch.

Beeper Mini messages are also end-to-end encrypted so neither Apple or Beeper can read your messages. This was one major issue with Nothing Chats as there were reports about the app not being end-to-end encrypted as claimed. But Apple is bringing RCS support to iMessage next year, which will make it easier for Android users to text iPhone users. It won't bring blue bubbles though so that distinction will still be there.

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