“Nothing Chats, powered by Sunbird, allows you to directly message other phone users from your Nothing phone via blue bubbles.”

I don’t think this solves the problem, but it is a step in the right direction.

  • people_are_cute@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 year ago

    WhatsApp does not come pre-installed on most phones (for some reason it often isn’t included even with Facebook’s crapware). It is still the de facto chat app in India, Brazil and dozens of other Asian, South American and European countries.

    • Chahk@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      As far as I know, SMS in India and Brazil is not free. This means that for majority of users switching to a data-based app is not so much as a choice, but a necessity. In the US texting via SMS has been free for several decades, so there’s no reason for people to look for an alternative.

        • Chahk@beehaw.org
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          1 year ago

          Exactly. It has reached critical mass to a point where if you’re not on it, you’re basically not communicating.

          Also, I remember that cross-carrier calling was an issue, which is why most people would need to use dual-SIM phones. Not sure if it’s the same for SMS.