Apple Business Chat has a new partner.
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T-Mobile announced Wednesday that it will now offer customer support via Apple's Business Chat. This means that if you have an iPhone, you'll be able to talk to T-Mobile representatives directly through iMessage.
SEE ALSO: T-Mobile says 30 cities will get 5G this year — but don't get too excited just yet
This will be another of many ways T-Mobile users can contact their provider. Previously, you could chat with representatives through the T-Mobile app, the company's Facebook and Twitter pages, at a store, or over the company's customer service phone line.
You'll be able to use Business Chat to modify your plan, ask support questions, make payments and purchases, and even send screenshots for troubleshooting.
But T-Mobile's customers want messaging the most, according to the company. 'In 2016, we launched messaging in the T-Mobile app, so customers can direct message with us,' wrote T-Mobile's Chief Operating Officer Mike Sievert in a statement. 'Since last year, messaging volume has increased 3X.' T-Mobile did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
T-Mobile is one of the first major companies to offer Business Chat, and the first U.S. mobile provider to do so. The product's early partners also include Home Depot, Marriott, and Wells Fargo.
The feature could pose a serious threat to Facebook Messenger, which supports chat bots from a number of large brands. In March, Messenger paused its app and bot review process in the face of a mounting controversy over its handling of user data.
So the kerfuffle over Zuckerberg and Cambridge Analytica has you worried for your privacy, Business Chat over iMessage might be a safer alternative.
Imessage Support
iMessage is one rather popular messaging platform, but unfortunately for almost everybody, it’s only available on Apple’s ecosystem, so technically, it can only be used by those with an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
And when I said almost everybody, I didn’t mean Apple too, as the Cupertino-based tech giant reportedly believes that bringing iMessage to Android would actually do more harm than good for the company.
This is what software chief Craig Federighi allegedly said when discussing the possibility of such a release, explaining that “moving iMessage to Android will hurt us more than help us, this email illustrates why.”
The comments have been revealed as part of the legal war between Epic and Apple and at some level, it shows that iMessage on Android isn’t necessarily something that comes down to technical struggles but to Apple not willing to expand its messaging platform.
iMessage was announced in 2011
T Mobile Imessage Outage
It’s not a secret that several people have tried to bring iMessage to Android with various approaches in the last few years, but all of them ended up being banned after Apple decided to keep the service exclusive to its users.
But on the other hand, iMessage, which first launched as part of iOS 5, could actually record a massive boom if Apple ever decides to bring it to Android. It goes without saying it could eventually become the number one alternative to the likes of WhatsApp and Telegram, as the Facebook-owner company is currently considered the world’s leading messaging platform.
T-mobile Imessage Chat
In the meantime, however, it’s pretty clear Apple isn’t necessarily interested in an expansion of iMessage to Android, and we should actually expect several improvements aimed at Apple users with the release of iOS 15 in the fall of the year.
A preview of iOS 15 will be offered at WWDC in the summer.