Apple's WWDC 2016 is just a few days away, and a new report says the iPhone maker may have a huge surprise in store on Monday, an announcement that targets smartphone users who may hate the iPhone.
Coming out of left field, a fresh rumor says that Apple will launch an iMessage app for Android at its developer conference. Mac Daily News says that a source familiar with the company's thinking delivered the news.
Apple already has a couple of apps for Android, including an Apple Music app and a tool to ease the transition from Android to iPhone so iMessage for Android wouldn't be the company's first app targeting Android users.
The report says that iMessage for Android would offer users the same encrypted chat experience that's available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The source did note that Apple's plans are constantly in flux leading up to Apple keynotes, which means there's also a chance that iMessage for Android won't be unveiled during next week's show. But the app is "definitely" coming to Android this year.
Apple's Eddie Cue announced in February that the number of iMessages sent every second top 200,000. The native iOS messaging app works across Apple devices, being the one iOS app that many Android users would like to see running on their devices. Only recently, a developer hacked together a proof of concept iMessage app for Android. While it works, that type of iMessage for Android experience isn't official and does require some tinkering.
Apple's WWDC 2016 keynote kicks off Monday, at 10:00 AM PST.