My issue with the demands to have apple allow iMessage on other platforms is that then we could get stuck with the expectation of catering to those users.

There already are encrypted messengers like signal, telegram, or even WhatsApp. Why aren’t people pushing at Apple users to make that switch themselves

The first thing that springs to mind is something like a “magic mirror”. I haven’t delved into it a ton, but I’m fairly certain that it would be able to hit most of your criteria.

That being said, I’d think it could be a decent enough starting point to at least find other things in the same vein.

Can you expand on some of this?

I haven’t really heard much regarding them being bad to their community/customer base, though I haven’t bought in a few years.

In regards to cost/performance, what are you meaning you’d need to spend extra on to match that of an old laptop or recycled machine?