I think this is how Android Play store currently works? If you deploy your app via another means, you get to DIY your own push infrastructure. I remember Square had to do this for their POS units that run Android, but weren't managed by the play store.

No, Firebase Cloud Messaging is a separate service from Play Store. As long as the device has Google Mobile Services installed the app can be installed from anywhere and doesn't need to be uploaded to Play Store.

Yeah that’s a big requirement. To get Google mobile services, you’re required to install Google chrome, Google play, and bunch of other bloatware.

You don’t have to load the app via Google play but your device needs to be managed by Google.

Which would be fair game except to my knowledge there’s no API in iOS that enables the use of anything other than APNS for notifications. I could be mistaken though!

Again, I don’t see how that is different from android.

For android, you need to buy into all the ecosystem of Google to access their push notification service.

You can use android without google’s system, but you can’t use google push system.

Because on android you can install another background service that can replace the features of the google service. This is pretty much what the Chinese did when they forked Android. There are alternative app delivery/update mechanisms that make this point entirely moot.

On iOS you just can't unless you are fully blessed by Apple, and this is precisely the issue.

You're certain the EU didn't just approve this plan?

Our leaders are sometimes spineless, so I unfortunately can't be certain.

I am however pretty certain that said spinelessness wouldn't fly with the European public.

Doesn't really matter since the European commission is not voted by us - we have no choice in the matter.

The European commission is nominated by our elected governments.

It is as democratic as the US presidency, which is also nominated by electors.

This is a tired talking point designed to sow doubt in the European project.

Adding layers of indirection makes it less democratic. We should be able to vote for them directly.

Sure it does.

But one layer of indirection is not crazy, that's the way any minister in any country works - or the way the US presidency does.

You can't directly elect every single official - it just doesn't scale. It also doesn't really make sense in the commissioner case as different commissioners have different portfolios and which country gets what is subject to negotiation between member states.

I mean, it's _possible_ that they had some sort of informal pre-approval, but given that Apple's last few 'attempts' to comply with EU law have swiftly been met with a "yeah, no" from the commission, there's not that much reason to think that _this_ one is the pre-cleared one.

They are cartoon level bad. I don't think they realize how much they are destroying their image in the eyes of their best customers. It is an extremely short-term strategy; they are doing irreparable damage in my opinion. I kind of like it because Apple needs to be thrown off their pedestal so that they can start to care at least a bit more.

I don't think it matters. Here is why I would pay 10x more for using Apple devices than other devices:

1. The ecosystem is just much better, ie. the quality of apps is in another league compared to apps on Android or Windows.

2. Many amazing apps that are at the core of my company's workflow simply don't exist on other platforms at all. With no comparable equivalents.

3. We get many apps earlier. Even up to a year earlier. Example: Clubhouse. Running a company, my marketing team can't afford to be late to a new social media platform, risking that it becomes the new status quo. I can name a dozen apps that were 6 to 12 months late to Android vs. IOS :(

If these change I would happily move to Linux, or Windows (once they make the OS usable).

We use Linux servers for running Python/Node Scripts, and APIs.

We use 1 Windows machine to use a very specific data science app that only exists for Windows.

Before anyone says I'm a fanboy. I'm here to generate revenue for my company. I don't give 2 sh*ts about AAPL.

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But this is just me.

Why it won't matter to the public: The kids don't care. The want an iPhone.