[gvurrdon]

Indeed. Pretty much everyone I know is "texting" with their friends and using whatever is the default app on their phone. Some people will use Whatsapp for specific groups/events, but that default text app is very commonly used.

This reminds me of a conversation with an iPhone-using elderly relative who wanted to text friends in their retirement home:

ER: Why is it that when I send text messages to my friends they sometimes never get them?

Me: When you get messages are the bubbles green?

ER: Yes.

Me: Is there bad phone signal in this area?

ER: Yes.

Me: OK, that means your friends are using Android phones, so your messages are being sent by a method called 'SMS' which isn't very reliable, particularly when phone signal is poor.

ER: I don't really understand that. What I can I do to fix it?

Me: You and your friends could install an app such as Whatsapp or Signal and send your texts with that.

ER: No, I'm not installing an app!

Me: You could persuade your friends to buy iPhones.

ER: They won't do that.

Me: You could wait a few months and Apple will most likely activate a new system called "RCS" on iPhones which might make messages with your friends a bit more reliable.

ER: That's no good, I need to fix it now.

etc. etc.

[dagw]

being sent by a method called 'SMS' which isn't very reliable, particularly when phone signal is poor...

Not that it is relevant to overall point, but this is the exact opposite of my experience. I've been in plenty of situations where it is impossible to make calls because the signal is so bad, but communicating with SMS has worked perfectly. As my signal gets weaker and weaker, SMS is always the last thing to fail.

[gvurrdon]

Interesting. I don't think I've noticed that, but I have run into various issues with SMS when there's poor signal. On one occasion I could receive but could not send, just at the perfect time when someone was waiting for me and I was unable to get to them.