NYC Billboard Attacking Apple's iMessage Came From Meta - CNET

The "anything you tin do, I tin bash better" back-and-forth between Apple and Facebook genitor Meta has made its mode to a New York City. This time, it came successful the signifier of a billboard conscionable extracurricular the celebrated "crossroads of the world" successful Times Square. In it, Meta attacked Apple's iMessage, touting its ain WhatsApp instead.

Facebook co-founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg connected Monday announced a caller billboard supra Pennsylvania Station, conscionable southbound of Times Square and adjacent the celebrated Broadway country theaters, to onslaught Apple. His institution is taking connected the iPhone maker's fashionable iMessage texting service, contending that Meta's WhatsApp is much trustworthy.

"WhatsApp is acold much backstage and unafraid than iMessage, with end-to-end encryption that works crossed some iPhones and Android, including radical chats," Zuckerberg wrote in a station connected Instagram, the fashionable photograph sharing work his institution besides owns. He besides highlighted different features similar disappearing messages, which iMessage doesn't have.

Read more: Apple Is Living Rent Free In Mark Zuckerberg's Head

Meta's caller billboard successful NYC attacks Apple's iMessage Monday.

Meta

"Protect your idiosyncratic messages crossed devices," the billboard said, portion poking amusive astatine Apple's celebrated blue-bubble messaging service. Apple didn't instantly respond to a petition for comment.

The determination marked the latest successful a bid of escalating volleys betwixt the tech titans, which has been gathering for years. Zuckerberg stepped up his attacks past week, during 1 of his company's astir important events of the year, discussing his plans for the metaverse. The technology, which Zuckerberg is truthful committed to that helium renamed his institution to Meta from Facebook, refers to shared virtual worlds we interact with utilizing each mode of devices including virtual world headsets.

Zuckerberg appears convinced that Apple volition beryllium 1 of his largest competitors, which is notable considering the iPhone shaper hasn't yet acknowledged its wide reported plans to connection a headset that bridges computer-generated virtual reality and the existent world.

In the meantime, Meta attacked Apple's fashionable iMessage, which is built into iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, but is not disposable for Android-powered phones and different devices. Google excessively has begun a run against Apple astir iMessage, attempting to unit the tech elephantine into gathering enactment for RCS -- or, Rich Communication Standard -- which it has been pushing as the adjacent advancement aft SMS.

WhatsApp, which is owned by Meta, has already attracted more than 2 cardinal people who usage its work each month. Meanwhile, determination are much than 1 cardinal progressive iPhones, and Apple is expected to scope 2 cardinal progressive iOS devices sometime this year.