Green Text Bubbles Are Cool, Actually

When Apple Inc. launched its iMessage, it reserved the use of even some basic features for iPhone users. When communicating with iPhone users, people who use devices powered by Alphabet Inc.’s Android software still can’t view photos at their highest quality level, see the three dots meaning the other person is typing or display receipts showing that someone’s read a text. IMessage also indicates non-iPhone users by showing their messages in green, a decision many people interpret as an attempt to shame them in front of their blue-bubble peers.

Because the iPhone has been the prototypical high-end smartphone ...