Why do i need GCM or APN?

Question

Why can't the individual app servers directly send notification to their mobile apps ? What is the benefit of having a centralized notification platform ?

Answer 1

From this thread, GCM is a service that helps developers send data from servers to their Android applications on Android devices. Same with APN which is a service for app developers to propagate information to iOS (and, indirectly, watchOS), tvOS, and macOS devices.

You may check these threads:

• Why it is preferred to use GCM for push notifications?

  Let's say you have 50 applications on your phone that do not use GCM. Each app developer decides it is appropriate to poll their respective backend once a minute.

  Since these are all separate applications, each call will likely not happen at the same time as another api call. The biggest kill to battery is when the radio within an android device has to turn back on after being off to make an API call, so multiple calls happening with blocks of time in between drains battery faster (read this article on the radio state machine to better understand why this is https://developer.android.com/training/efficient-downloads/efficient-network-access.html)

  In addition, each application will be hitting a separate endpoint. Each time you make an API call, you have to go through the connect process for a given server. With batched api requests or HTTP 2.0, multiple calls going to the same server can be optimized by not having to re-do a handshake or the connect process.

• What are some advantages of push notifications?

  • Wide reach across internet users.
  • High conversion rates.
  • Real-time communication.

• Push Notifications Explained

Hope this helps!