Group threads have been implemented as MMS on all major smartphone operating systems. Unfortunately, Android didn't get it until Android 4.2 or something.
The key is that the recipient list is sent with the message, so the other clients know who else is participating in the group, and can also thread and send outgoing messages accordingly.
Squash merging is only of the feature branch to master. If your feature branch makes it through code review and acceptance and you still need to update the typo, then you make the commit to master directly.
It would be great if we could be perfect, but sometimes small commits to master do have to happen. All we do is make sure we subject every feature to code review and acceptance before it gets to master. If it slips through, then it's technically a new change request in our eyes
Because you can send a message to a /person/ (or multiple people) instead of a /phone number/. Depending on said service, said person can interact with the message independent of device or phone number. Useful for people who interact with people who change phone numbers/devices often and/or travel between countries. Just send the message, and you don't have to think.
But people will forever stick to their stock messaging application as much as possible, sticking to slower, more restrictive technologies. MMS is a dinosaur.
And SMS is a dinosaur too (but it's still around and kicking) and it's still the best way to get mobile app installs.
Sorry, but the need to have the same app installed to send and receive an image significantly restricts the audience of a given product (and you're locked into someone else's app).
Current: Step 1 >> Get 100M users to install an app. Step 2 >> Get them to take pictures of stuff. Step 3 >> Get permissions all the people who took picture to upload the pictures or just replace their normal picture-taking behavior with your app. No biggie.
With universal MMS (via Twilio): Step 1 >> Get them to take pictures of stuff
To me, having to think about what service person 1 uses compared to person 2, etc... that's way harder than using phone numbers.
And besides, with those services, I am sending messages to usernames, not to people... except for Facebook, in which case I am sending to one of many thousands of John Does who are on Facebook.
or "Android device". technically speaking, "Android" should be "Android-based" for all devices that aren't pure Android, which may or may not be the case for the Moto X, depending on which Moto X you get.
I also think that /slightly/ adulterated stock Android might be "close enough" to count as "Android" instead of "Android-based", but I'm not sure.
The key is that the recipient list is sent with the message, so the other clients know who else is participating in the group, and can also thread and send outgoing messages accordingly.