Sunbird Messaging, the app that brings iMessage to Android, is now available to everyone on the Google Play Store. More than 181,000 people signed up for early access ahead of the launch, and the app is now open to all Android users. Sunbird has also introduced a new priority inbox, with Primary and Secondary tabs, live in the app today.
In iMessage conversations, Sunbird users appear with full blue bubbles on iPhones, allowing Android users to participate naturally in iMessage conversations and group chats with the same experience iPhone users expect. Sunbird brings iMessage, Google Messages (RCS), and SMS/MMS together in a single Android app, making it the best default messenger on Android, with no second Apple device, no Mac, and no extra hardware required.
In 2024, Apple began supporting RCS on iPhones, which improved a few basics like photo quality and typing indicators. But the results are inconsistent, and it did not make an Android user a full member of an iMessage group chat. Reactions, replies, and iMessage’s group features still often fail when an Android phone is in the chat, and Android messages still arrive as green bubbles. The cost is real: a survey from All About Cookies found that 38% of Android users had missed or misunderstood messages because of the incompatibility, and 30% had considered switching to an iPhone over the pressure and mockery. In the same survey, nearly a quarter of iPhone users (23%) said a green bubble would be a dating dealbreaker. That pressure runs deepest among teenagers, 88% of whom own iPhones, according to Piper Sandler’s 2025 survey.
“Blue bubbles are just the surface,” said Danny Mizrahi, CEO of Sunbird Messaging. “The real problem is that an Android user in a group chat still breaks it for everyone: reactions, replies, high quality video, and group management often just do not work. Sunbird fixes that, so the Android user becomes a full participant, and their iPhone friends get the experience they expect too.”
Sunbird’s new priority inbox brings order to a busy messaging life. The people and groups a user hears from most stay front and center in the Primary tab, while routine noise, such as verification codes and messages from unknown numbers, is filed into Secondary. The user stays in control: any conversation can be pulled into Primary to keep it close, or moved into Secondary to cut the clutter.
Later this year, Sunbird plans to introduce Sunbird Intelligence, a set of AI features that run on the user’s own phone. The first, Catch Me Up, will give users a single summary of everything they missed across their conversations. A built-in assistant will also be able to take simple actions on request, such as drafting a reply or moving a chat to Primary. Keeping these features on the device is a deliberate choice, so a user’s messages are not sent elsewhere to be processed. Sunbird expects to begin rolling out Sunbird Intelligence in Q3 2026. WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are coming to the same inbox on the same timeline: both are in late-stage development and expected in Q3 2026 as well, so your conversations live in one place no matter where they started.
“Honestly, I can’t wait for Catch Me Up myself,” said Mizrahi. “I can’t keep up with all my group chats and threads anymore, and I want a summary that tells me what I missed and where to look. We are building it carefully, and on the device, where a user’s messages stay private.”
More than 181,000 people signed up for Sunbird ahead of its open launch. The company reports strong conversion, with roughly 33% of installs starting a free trial and about 8% converting to paying subscribers. That is roughly six to eight times the industry average for subscription apps, based on 2025 benchmarks from RevenueCat and UXCam, and it has held even after a price increase from $1.99 to $2.99 per month during early testing. Sunbird is $2.99 per month or $24.99 per year, a 30% saving, and every new user gets a 14-day free trial.
Because Sunbird is in open beta, getting connected can occasionally take a second try. To make that easier, the app now includes a built-in setup assistant, a chatbot that guides new users through connecting step by step, and helps again if a connection needs another attempt. The team is also available at support@sunbirdapp.com.
The stakes reach beyond bruised feelings. Apple’s iMessage exclusivity has drawn antitrust scrutiny, including a 2024 lawsuit by the US Department of Justice. Sunbird’s position is that closing the gap helps everyone, including Apple. By its own user feedback, many Sunbird users happily buy Apple products like Apple TV and simply prefer an Android phone, and Sunbird lets them stay part of iMessage rather than forcing a choice between the two. In doing so, it helps ease both the exclusion and the bullying the divide has long created.
Sunbird is built to keep your conversations yours. Your messages are encrypted on your device and in transit, and Sunbird doesn’t keep them, they pass through only long enough to be delivered. When you message an iPhone, Apple’s own iMessage encryption carries that final step, exactly as it always has. The technology behind it is protected by two issued US patents, with more detail available on our website.
