iMessage: A Social Network that keeps me to iPhone
https://mashable.com/2017/02/10/imessage-is-keeping-me-on-iphone/
https://gizmodo.com/im-buying-an-iphone-because-im-ashamed-of-my-green-bubb-1787965756
A few months ago, Apple releases the new iPhone Xs, Xs Max, and Xr. A lot of critics have pointed out the disappointment due to lack of new features, as well as the increasingly higher pricing policy that Apple is now applying on its products. That being said, the truth is that for a lot of iPhone users I know, they will stick with iPhone nonetheless. (They may not upgrade, but when it is time to do so, they will choose another iPhone.) One of the biggest reasons, without a doubt, is iMessage.
iMessage is a feature seamlessly built into iPhones that give users a great array of features, including better group chat, free texting while roaming, mini games, etc. However, it will only work if both people have an iPhone. (Or in the case of a group chat, all members in that group must have an iPhone.) In addition, iPhone users are presented with an ugly green bubble for texting with a non-iPhone user. There has even been a study indicating that people who don’t have iPhones (the green bubbler) have a lower change of getting a second date than iPhone users!
This phenomenon can be loosely represented by a structural model. Assume each node to be a smartphone user, and I to be iMessage while N to be non-iMessage:
| someone else | |||||
| I | N | ||||
| me | I | a,a | c,b | ||
| N | b,c | b,b | |||
With a > b > c.
The above table shows the payoff of using or not using iMessage. When both parties are using iMessage, they get the best messaging experience. When neither parties use iMessage, they are probably not using iPhone so they get a subpar texting experience. However, when an iMessage user and a non-iMessage user, the iMessage one may be annoyed by the green bubbles or lack of features that would be normally available with iMessage, so they will have the lowest satisfaction. The other party, on the other hand, doesn’t mind, so they still have b as their payoff.
While it is hard to pinpoint a q threshold with only variables, we can see that for me (or a person), the payoff of choosing iMessage is better if the other person is also using iMessage; if the other person doesn’t use iMessage, then I would want to use a non-iMessage, because of the “ignorance is bliss” effect, also I don’t have to see the ugly green bubbles.
So here comes the problem. It is all about what phones people around you are using. If there are more users (nodes) using iPhones (choosing I), you would be better off using iPhones as well. If not, then you shouldn’t either. This is one of the reasons why iPhone still enjoys dominance over the US market–it is because there is a network of iMessage users that keep each other choosing iPhone again and again. In markets like China, on the other hand, because of various reason such as having many lower-priced smartphones available, the network of iMessage users never grew as big as the one in the US, and therefore current iPhone users may be more willing to switch away from iPhone.
Of course, iMessage is not the only factor when people are choosing their phone, but I would say it is a reason that is important enough. Here lies a critical feature of using a structural model to keep people in: One can really benefit from it, but also heavily lose because of it as well.