Gadgetory

what if Google could deal Facebook a major blow I'm talking like right to the family jewels you see it comes down to api's and for you noobs up there API stands for application program interface suffice it to say it's a fancy word for being a middleman between various programs they allow programs to interact communicate and share data and they're everywhere and they're absolutely crucial to our digital world you see every time you view Google Maps information on your Facebook app the app must make an API call through to Google servers every time you received a facebook notification on your phone if you're an Android user Google must handle the API call this cost Google money so far they haven't been charging developers for it but they certainly could now this amount would be miniscule for small app developers especially for apps that don't reach for Google services like Google Maps but for Facebook the bottom line would be absolutely staggering you see most Facebook users own Android devices and Facebook owns four of the most popular Android apps in the world Facebook whatsapp Instagram and messenger all of which rely heavily on Google handled API calls now for those of you who are thinking no jace Google would never do that think about it Google did start charging for Google Maps usage years ago and just because they've been mute thus far on the API calls Facebook should be concerned now currently it's totally feasible to use a method of delivery other than Google Cloud messaging the service that handles API calls so prior to this summer Facebook may have had hopes of developing their own system and decoupling themselves from Google but just like the final scenes of ghostbusters despair arrived in the form of something soft white and round marshmallow androids newest version introduced a number of changes to the way Android operating system handles notifications these changes make it much more difficult for developers to use anything but Google Cloud messaging to ferry notifications to their apps now what makes sense that Google would want to make sure that apps use their proprietary system to vet app notifications before sending them out to Android devices in terms of both security and consistent your experience this is a no-brainer but now Facebook is staring down the barrel of an Android future in which they will no longer have any other option but to lean on Google's API support and as some of you know one of the major goals of marshmallow was to improve battery life across Android devices Google realized that one of the best ways to do this was to let devices doze for longer intervals and handle notifications in batches marshmallow introduced a task system that allows developers to categorize push content as low priority and high priority low priority notifications get bundled off by Google Cloud messaging and sent to devices over intervals high priority notifications that may require immediate action like Facebook notifications are sent right away waking up the device notifications increase engagement with an app by creating this division Google is essentially encouraging developers to make every notification a high priority notification if developers do this then this battery saving method will be a bust to salvage it Google may start trying to decide themselves what notifications constitute the high priority label now you can see how that might be a major issue for Facebook they don't want mother Google deciding when and how you get your notifications that's how Facebook makes their money bringing you back to the app now you might be thinking Jace Facebook is a multi-billion dollar business they have the money and developers to make their own and not rely on Google but think about it for that really to work that have to come up with their own Google Maps their own Gmail their own YouTube their own Google search on Play Store etc etc etc it's a massive enterprise it might be easier to make nice and play with Google although very expensive thanks for watching Android army my name is Jase love to connect with you right here on Google+ or Twitter you don't want to forget about my brothers and sister and Android we're working super hard to be your source for all things and