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I really disagree with your argument - > -Apple limits what your app can do, e.g. apps can't spawn processes (FU Apple, this is bad for security/pricacy), Wha
by inapis 9y ago
I really disagree with your argument -
> -Apple limits what your app can do, e.g. apps can't spawn processes (FU Apple, this is bad for security/pricacy),
What's the issue with that? Why would I want some random no-name devleoper randomly spawning processes on my device killing my battery life? How is it exclusively better for privacy? What prevents them from executing privacy-invading code as the separate process?
> can't do JIT compilation,
What's the advantage when all the devices, your apps are supposed to be running on, share the same OS, platform, ABI etc? What's the point when the hardware is already limited in scope compared to alternative platforms
>can't download code, etc...
Again, why would you want some random developer be able to download extra code? What prevents them from not misusing it for nefarious purposes? Even assuming that the developer is not malevolent, what prevents a third-party from compromising the developer's "update" servers and pushing malicious code?
>Apple rejects apps that compete with their own.
This is from a bygone era. For every native app on my iPhone, I can list an alternative -
- Apple Photos -> Google Photos/Plex Photos
- iMessage -> Whatsapp, Telegram
- Facetime -> Skype, Allo, Duo
- Mail -> Outlook, Spark, Airmail
- Apple Music -> Spotify, SoundCloud, Wynk, Gaana
- iBooks -> Kindle, Blinkist, Kobo
- Files/iCloud Drive -> Dropbox, Tresorit, Google Drive
- Apple Maps -> Google Maps, Waze
- Keychain -> 1password, lastpass, minikeepass
- Notes -> Evernote, Simplenote, Bear, Ulysses, Notion
- Calendar -> Fantastical, Vantage
- Clock/Timer -> Klok, Timeglass
- Reminders -> Todoist, Due, Things 3
- Video -> VLC
- iTunes U -> Coursera, Udacity
- Camera -> Halide, Camera Plus, Retrica
- Weather -> Dark Sky, AccuWeather
- Podcasts -> Overcasts, Pocket Casts
- iTunes Store -> I'm not sure there's a perfect alternative but I can purchase music and movies from non-apple services as long as they provide it (and give apple their cut)
- Settings -> Do we even need an alternative?
- Voice Memos -> Recordium, Just Press Record
- Pages/Numbers/Keynote -> Word/Excel/Powerpoint, Google Sheets/Slides/Docs
- Apple Health -> I haven't gone looking for alternative but a lot of apps maintain their own data sources. I'm not sure what really prevents them from sharing data across or maybe they just don't want to? In any case I, sure as hell, trust only Apple with a centralized data source when it comes to my health tracking
- iMovie -> Videoshop
- Stocks -> Stock Tracker
Do I need to go on? Some apps, which are indeed competitors to native apps, have been rejected but "is a competitor" doesn't appear to be the exclusive basis for rejection.
>Apple removes apps that some governments want to have removed.
True. Agreed
> they don't allow any other rendering engine other than their own
I am a developer and as much joy it would be to have Blink/V8 running on iOS, I'm totally fine with the decision apple made. In the absence of strong disincentives, companies and developers would try to get away with as much shenanigans as possible. I would absolutely not be happy if Google pushes a battery-killing update.
Sure Apple has its fair share of problem but out of all the big tech co's they are, by far, the best when it comes to preserving privacy, security and the least likely to pull shenanigans or gotcha's on their users.
- hungerstrike 9y ago> Why would I want some random no-name devleoper randomly spawning processes on my device killing my battery life? Why do you want Apple to be in control of your device though? Wouldn't you rather be able to let an app do something that it needs to, when you need it to? Or, would you honestly prefer Apple to make all of your decisions for you? If you really want Apple to be in control of your devices and not you, that's fine... but can you understand why other people might not want that? Are there any Apple decisions that you disagree with? Also, how about a replacement for the most important apps? - Contacts - Phone Dialer - Messages - Safari Can you even uninstall those? Are other apps even allowed to receive phone calls or SMS text? (To replace Safari - I'd require that it never get launched from a hyperlink in an SMS text message.) I'd like to replace these because Apple only gives you the most bare-bones features for them and they strong-arm you into using Apple Maps and Safari from them. I'm guessing you're fine with that though. > [Apple is the] least likely to pull shenanigans or gotcha's on their users. Pffft. Do you know the history of Apple? Their whole business model is a shenanigan on the users. I look forward to when their time is over.
- remir 9y agoTo be honest, I kinda like Apple's "walled garden" approach on some level. No perfect, not ideal for power-users, but for the general non-techy person, I think it's great. I don't have to worry about my kids installing some app that pretend to be WhatsApp while it's clearly not. But yeah, I would like to be able to change default apps in iOS. That would be great.
- inapis 9y ago>Why do you want Apple to be in control of your device though? I don't but I'm not hesitant to cede some control of my device to Apple in order to not be a technology janitor. I do not want absolute control of my device which is not even possible with any commercially available device anyway. (And no, Android does not give you absolute control of the device) >Wouldn't you rather be able to let an app do something that it needs to, when you need it to? Does Apple's current model really hamper any app to do something that it needs to, when I need it to? >Or, would you honestly prefer Apple to make all of your decisions for you? Again, I am happy to meet Apple in a middle ground where it makes some decisions for me and I make some decisions. I am happy to decide which apps gets access to contacts, notifications, location etc etc. What gives the assumption that you are in all control of decisions on an android device? Remove the Google Play Services and 3/4th of the ecosystem falls flats on its face. >If you really want Apple to be in control of your devices and not you, that's fine... but can you understand why other people might not want that? I totally get that part. I never denied that. >Are there any Apple decisions that you disagree with? Plenty. Touchbar is useless. Removal of headphone jack was rushed. Before iOS 8, I was practically in the android camp because iOS devices were severely limited then compared to now. iOS's notification game is weak. There is no need for iOS to block the whole screen for an incoming cellular call. Devices can get very difficult to repair. >Also, how about a replacement for the most important apps? You moved the goal posts. Original reply was against the assertion that apple does not permit certain apps because of "competition" which is not true. Otherwise Spotify, Evernote, Todoist etc won't exist. Greater than 3/4th of native apps have proper substitutes available in the App Store. You expanded the argument to include apps whose functionality is not replaceable because of ideological grounds or design choices. I never posited that Apple permits all apps. This would be akin to me demanding an alternative for Google Play Services with comparable functionality. Anyways - - Contacts -> Full Contacts - Phone Dialer -> Simpler Dialer (Not a true replacement though) - Message -> True. No Alternative as in you can't access SMS/iMessage - Safari -> Chrome/Firefox. Does an ordinary user care if they are running Webkit or Gecko? V8 or Rhino? As long as you are getting the feature of your favourite browser (chrome syncs your data between devices just like safari would between apple devices) why do you care if its Chakra or v8? OTOH, I'm glad that Apple does not let Google roll it's own javascript engine in iOS Chrome. Otherwise surfing youtube on Chrome iOS would like garnish the battery life. This hits Android devices too which do not have a VPx capable hardware decoder. >Can you even uninstall those? Are other apps even allowed to receive phone calls or SMS text? (To replace Safari - I'd require that it never get launched from a hyperlink in an SMS text message.) No. You've got a valid point. >I'd like to replace these because Apple only gives you the most bare-bones features for them and they strong-arm you into using Apple Maps and Safari from them. I'm guessing you're fine with that though. I just sent a link on iMessage from my desktop to iPhone. Clicking on the link opens the location in Google Maps and not Apple Maps. If there's a specific case which forces Apple Maps I'd like to know. Every app I know and use (Outlook, food delivery, taxi services, online stores) force open Google Maps on my device and not Apple Maps. The only time I actually opened Apple Maps since owning an iPhone for 2 years is when I went to see if navigation is being provided in my area or not. Practically it doesn't exist for me. Even Apple's own Workflow app gives me Google Maps directions (I can choose between both when setting up the workflow) >Pffft. Do you know the history of Apple? Their whole business model is a shenanigan on the users. I look forward to when their time is over. Please give me concrete examples of "Their whole business model is a shenanigan on the users." There are few ups and downs but overall, interaction with Apple is much more pleasant than dealing with other tech companies. That they are expensive is not a shenanigan. You know what you are in for when you're purchasing an apple device. I've yet to see Apple engage in deceptive practices or misleading claims or gotachas like Sony which claimed all multimedia support on my TV but turns out only mp4 and mkv are supported on only an NTFS formatted partition. And if you are using a hard drive you can only use specific USB ports because not all ports provide maximum current. Half of this info was buried in the manual and half I had to figure out manually by taking a USB Voltmeter to my TV. Or like Canon which claimed "full compatibility across all Operating Systems" but turns out duplex printing is not supported on mac os or linux which was confirmed to me in a forum post. Or like Dell which claimed 2560x1440p @ 60hz on my monitor but conveniently failed to mention, on the box or in the quick start, that it's supported only on DP and if you've got to use HDMI then you have to go out of your way to create custom profiles and what not. This was not even mentioned in the manual and I had to scavenge for it in the dell forums. The closest I've come to a "gotcha" with Apple is the lack of DP MST support in mac OS some years back and which was not readily confirmed in apple support article. The only other egregious issue I can remember is the refusal to acknowledge and fix the iPhone 6 bending issue. For all other issues, Apple generally came forth with an acceptable solution (like free bumper case for iPhone 4 cellular connectivity problems, free display replacements for the staingate thing, free motherboard replacements for the 2011/2012 Macbook Pro Graphic Card issues, 6s free battery replacement even after 3 years if you have the "defective" first batch phones). Unlike, say LG which threw a tantrum on replacing the motherboard of my mother's nexus 5x, or OnePlus which quoted a repair bill higher than the cost of a new device, or HTC which promised to repair the device in 3 days but delivered only after a fortnight, or Logitech which claimed to process a refund within a week but took 45 day. OTOH, I have had exactly one interaction with Apple support over the past 5 years and they replaced my phone in 24 hours (while claiming 7 days). And this is when Apple does not even sell directly to consumers in my country. I can only image what the support would be like when the middle men are removed. This is compounded by the fact that every other person in my close circle, who has interacted with Apple support, speaks highly of them. So my one single interaction is not an outlier. >I look forward to when their time is over. I look forward to that time too but alas, I'm pretty sure that I'd be gone from this earth by then. Apple has its fair share of issues (tax avoidance, being stingy with new product launches etc; I can jot down a whole list) but hands down the products are a joy to use and the company pleasant to interact with, for an average consumer, compared to any other option available on the market.