Apple just announced a slew of new features for iOS,
including video, audio, and location tagging for iMessage and the
ability to name (and leave!) group chats. WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum isn't
too happy about the new additions:
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| Twitter / Jan Koum |
His
point is that Apple just added features for iMessage that WhatsApp users
have had for a long time. WhatsApp users could always record media,
like audio or video, and share location data easily through messages.
The fact that Apple has put a huge emphasis on improving iMessage is very telling of the growing power of messaging apps like WhatsApp — which Facebook bought earlier this year for $19 billion — Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, Line, and Kik.
WhatsApp currently has more than 500 million users; Facebook's Messenger app has more than 200 million monthly users; Snapchat has around 70 million
monthly users. It makes sense that Apple would want to integrate
features from those popular apps into its own in-house messaging
system.
After all, Apple wants all iPhone owners to use iMessage, instead of downloading and using other apps.
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