Apple may be further along with iMessage for Android than previously thought

We’ve seen plenty of rumors that Apple would be releasing iMessage to Android, but according to the most recent ones, the company has gone as far as to create mockups for an Android app with Google’s “Material Design” that follow the overall look of other Android apps.

According to Daring Fireball, a number of iMessage mockups have been circulated within Apple. The mockups reportedly have various designs, with some adhering to Material Design, and others looking more like an iOS app.

Just because we’re now hearing rumors about an iMessage app for Android doesn’t mean one will ever be released. The fact that Apple is creating mockups does mean that it’s at least possible that Android users will finally one day be able to use iMessage.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard rumors about an iMessage app for Android — in fact, earlier this year there were a number of rumors indicating that Apple would release an Android version of the app at its Worldwide Developers Conference. That rumor ultimately turned out to be false.

That also wasn’t the first time we heard of Apple making one of its much-loved apps available to others. In 2010, Steve Jobs claimed that FaceTime would eventually become an open standard and would be available on other platforms. That’s still yet to happen, but that’s largely due to the fact that Apple was hit with a patent infringement lawsuit from VirnetX, which ended up forcing Apple to develop a few workarounds to the technology it was using.