New universal chat app "Beeper" combines 15 different chat platforms into a single inbox and offers iMessage on Android and Windows (via The Verge).
The app comes from a team including former Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky, and enables users to integrate a range of messaging services, including WhatsApp, SMS, Signal, Telegram, Slack, Twitter, Skype, Hangouts, Discord, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger, into a single, searchable inbox. Most striking is support for Apple's iMessage, as it is only officially available on Apple devices.
The app is "using some trickery" to achieve this, with the website's FAQ revealing that an always-online Mac running the Beeper app is needed to use as a bridge. Alternately, Beeper will ship a "Jailbroken iPhone with the Beeper app installed which bridges to iMessage" to users unable to use a Mac.
The app is built on the open-source Matrix messaging protocol. While the clear short-term objective is to make it easier to chat across different services, Migicovsky has discussed the prospect of all users gradually transitioning to the open-source Matrix itself to chat, rather than simply using it as a bridge between services.
Beeper will cost $10 per month for its hosted option, and is set to be available on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android. Prospective users can request an early invitation to join the app on the Beeper website.
