Apple - BBM-like iPhone app?

WhatsApp and PingChat are the major games in town. I've also heard a bit about Cnectd

Nothing has really sold me yet, as I'm looking for proper delivery and read notification a la BBM.

Now if someone could figure out how to cross the impossible chasm to somehow connect into the BBM network, it would be a game changer.

Kik Messenger is relatively new and has the best feature from BBM (IMO);

Sent, Delivery, Read and typing status for messages

Unfortunately it was pulled from Blackberry's App World and actually blocked from pushing data on the Blackberry due to the fact that the founder was once an intern on the RIM BBM team. RIM is actually in the process of suing Kik - which just goes to show you that they are onto something.

Even without proper support on Blackberry, it's highly recommended for iPhone, and there is an Android version as well.

iMessage (Free)

iMessage, Apple's own messaging platform, can send and receive messages on iOS (5 or later on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch), macOS and watchOS, as long as they are connected to either a Wi-Fi or cellular network (3G). Starting with iOS 10, Messages includes support for third party apps.