Why are iPhone text messages “green” and “blue”?
If you are an iPhone user, you may have noticed a strange feature in the Message app. Phenomenon: The background color of some messages is blue, while the background color of some messages is green. What is going on?
In fact, the answer is very simple: the content with a blue background is the content that users use through Apple’s iMessage service. Messages sent or received, while the green background content is traditional text messages received or sent via SMS.
Is this important? At the information level, do we care whether the information has a blue or green background? The answer varies from person to person and from situation to situation.
First, ensure that every iPhone user can become an "informed person." A standard SMS text message is sent and transmitted over the same language network used for making phone calls. A few years ago, operators charged based on the number of text messages (for example, 10 cents per text message). Later, operators bundled a certain number of text messages into users' phone plans, that is, as long as users did not send more than the specified number of text messages, they would not be charged. Most phone plans now offer unlimited text messaging.
During this period, Apple launched the iMessage service, which is very similar to the standard SMS service, but the former relies on the data network (cellular or WiFi). Apple’s iMessage service provides users with two major benefits: first, they don’t have to pay SMS fees to operators; second, users can also experience more text messaging functions.
In fact, Apple iMessage allows users to do things that standard SMS cannot, such as sharing location, sending walkie-talkie-style voice messages, checking message delivery status, and even checking whether the other party is messaging you back. .
However, Apple’s service hasOne drawback: iMessage service can only be used between iOS devices. If you own an iPhone and then use the Messages application to send text messages to Android, BlackBerry or WP users, the iOS system will default to the other party not having an iMessage application and then convert the message to SMS mode. At this time, the information is still displayed with a green background instead of blue.
However, if the following three situations occur, even if a message is sent to another iPhone, the background color will still be green:
1. The iMessage service is not activated on the user's iPhone. Users can click "Settings" - "Information" and then check whether this feature is turned on. If it is turned on, you can also activate "Send as SMS" so that when iMessage is not in use, messages will be sent as SMS, but carrier SMS fees may apply. In addition, it should be noted that when users activate iMessage service, they need to log in with their Apple ID.
2. iMessage is not activated on the other party’s device;
3. The current data network is unavailable. However, if the user's mobile phone can connect to the voice tower, it will default to SMS mode.
Therefore, under what circumstances should users choose iMessage or SMS mode?
Although text messages are very small, picture messages can consume a lot of data. If the user's phone plan provides unlimited text messages but limited data traffic, it is best to turn off iMessage and enable SMS. On the other hand, if the user is exchanging text messages with other iPhone users, but all they see is a green background message, ask the other party to activate the iMessage service on their phone, so that the user can experience the many functions brought by iMessage. .