tbf, Apple‘s iMessage dominance is mostly a US based phenomenon. In European countries, many people use WhatsApp and telegram. Anecdotal evidence: I don’t know anybody using iMessage.
Same, I don’t know anyone using iMessage and I’m deep into Apple circles.
Same in France. Apple or not, it’s still mostly WhatsApp and a bit of Telegram around me. Only old iPhone users who haven’t installed anything are using iMessage because it’s the default application.
I live in the states and I do not know a single person who still uses WhatsApp. Everyone uses iMessage.
People in each country used whatever everyone else is using. In the US that became text/iMessage. This was partially driven by the way cell companies charged in the US with free texts but limits on data (iMessage uses data, but it came later).
In other countries the better at the time options won out. We talk to our friends in Europe and Africa with WhatsApp.
