Telegram is one of our preferred messaging apps. This application was born as a freer and safer competitor than WhatsApp, and over time it has become one of the chat applications that innovates the most with frequent updates.
Behind Telegram, there is a whole team led by Pavel Durov, one of the creators of the VK social network and who keeps the project alive, both financially and at the leadership level. Without Pavel Telegram it would not exist, but its position does not always end up being favorable for the image of the messaging client.
Pavel has a reputation for controversy, and on several occasions has charged against WhatsApp, his main rival. Also against Apple. And yesterday was exactly what happened again, one more episode of tantrums using freedom as an excuse.
Pavel does not want Apple but follows the rules of the game
Last Sunday Telegram received its eighth major update so far this year, according to Pavel himself. The director of Telegram affirmed that this update could have arrived several days ago, but that they did not do it because of Apple that in its desire to control all mobile applications, the approval process of the Apple Store.
What does this have to do with Android? Well not much, since according to Pavel’s own statement, it seems that they have delayed the update on Android so that it reaches both systems at the same time.
But Durov wanted to charge against the iPhone and needed something to serve as an introduction.
The 7 reasons why you should abandon the iPhone according to Durov
In the article (you can read the original here) the creator of Telegram charges against Apple and indicates the 7 reasons why an iPhone user should worry about having an iPhone:
- High prices: 30% commission makes all applications and digital goods more expensive for you. Raise the prices you pay developers for any services and games you buy on your phone. You pay more for each application, even though Apple has charged you several hundred dollars more for your iPhone than it costs to do so. Being brief, you keep paying even after you have paid.
- Censorship: Some content in applications such as Telegram are not available to you because censorship is allowed in the App Store, which allows you to reinforce your 30% tax. Apple even restricts developers from telling them that certain content has been hidden from iPhone users specifically at their request. Apple should realize how ridiculous it is to try to globally close content: imagine a web browser deciding which web pages you are allowed to view.
- Lack of privacy: To install an app from the App Store, you must first create an Apple account and log in. After that, every app and notification you install and receive is linked to your account, making it easier for you to follow. Because the main reason to use an account to download an application is the desire to reinforce your 30% commission, the cost of your greed includes your private data.
- Delays in app updates: You receive new verifications from your apps several days or weeks after they are ready due to the fact that Apple’s review team is notoriously inefficient and it often takes days of delay to approve them for no apparent reason. You might think that Apple uses the billions of dollars they receive from applications to hire more moderators. Somehow they cannot do it and we have to wait several days or weeks to publish.
- Fewer applications: The 30% commission on applications goes in addition to the rest of the expenses that developers must pay such as taxes, salaries, research, servers or marketing. Some apps may have a balance of benefits without Apple’s 30% commission, but being forced to give up 30% of their income to Apple makes them unsustainable. As a result, some of them go bankrupt and a ton of great apps you might have enjoyed don’t exist.
- More in-app ads: Because Apple sells premium services and accepts a third lesser donations for developers, many of them are forced to show in-app ads to survive. Apple’s policies skew the industry to sell user data instead of letting them adopt business models that respect privacy.
- Worst apps: Billions of dollars are taken from users who might otherwise have spent these funds improving the quality of the apps you use every day. Instead, this money rests in Apple’s bank account doing nothing for the world as app developers struggle to find the research and development the world needs.
Apple is terrible but the speech is not much better for Android
The reasons that Durov gives to reflect on the App Store are undoubtedly annoying, and although his explanation is very good, it is true that he offers a perhaps a little biased version of reality, with points that do not really fit that much.
Except for point 4, that of delayed updates, all other disadvantages are also available on Google Play . Literally, if you remove point 4 and replace Apple with Google and the App Store with Google Play, you have the same speech and it is still as true as the one you wrote.
We insist that we agree with Durov’s version, but leaving the speech halfway to favor the cause that interests him (generating hatred towards Apple) makes him lose credibility. The same would happen if you criticized only Google Play and not the App Store.
In other regrets of Durov , he himself clarified that the situation is not the same since an Android user is capable of installing applications from other sources . However, in 2019 with Huawei we have been able to see that this freedom of Android is virtual, and that in the end if a developer wants to have downloads and benefits he will have to go through the Play Store and that even Fortnite has had to back down.
Point 4 and progressive web applications
PWA is short for Progressive Web App , one of the latest revolutions in mobile app development. These types of applications use web technology, but also adapt to the requirements of mobile applications.
The distribution is simple, you simply go to the web from the mobile browser and you can run it. A pop-up will also appear inviting us to install the application. Whether you have an iPhone or Android, this application will appear on your desktop and you can use it. It is a thousand times easier than installing an APK and offers freedom on all platforms.
When a developer creates a web application, even if it is not a PWA, it is no longer under the control of those evil corporations so that the sole responsibility is for the developer. It is all the freedom that Pavel defends, but that for some reason is dedicated to ignoring because Telegram benefits more from being in stores than not being.
Why? Well, there must be a hidden reason, and that Telegram Web does not have animated stickers a year after reaching Android and iOS, it must be the fault of Apple’s evil, and not that they prefer to avoid the path that according to Durov’s ideals is the fairer.