Apple Ecosystem Lock-in
Discussions center on Apple's tight integration of services like iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, and features such as Handoff and Continuity, debating the extent of user lock-in to Apple hardware and the challenges of cross-platform alternatives.
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Apple services are very much tied to Apple Hardware and iOS/OSX
via their "cloud".now if you refuse to give apple all your email, wifi passwords, pictures, etc, you will not have any integration.Mostly like google stuff. If i do not give google my wifi passwords then i can't get my android watch to use wifi at all! Apple is just catching up on the game they invented.
Even in Apple's ecosystem?
If I don’t like what Apple does with iMessage, I can move to WhatsApp. If I don’t like what Apple does with photos, I can move to Google Photos. If I don’t like what Apple does with iCloud, I can move to Dropbox. If I don’t like what Apple does with iOS, I can move to Android.What am I missing? How am I handcuffed to Apple?
Where's the lock-in exactly? Because I can't think of any besides "this application isn't available for linux/windows/android".Photos -> Export unmodified originalsCalendar -> Export as iCalE-Mail -> IMAP anyway (and most people use gmail anyway)iTunes -> Stuff you bought is .aac without DRM. Music subscription can be cancelled every monthPersonally I'm mostly using google services, some of them in parallel to Apple's (i. e.
> Of course you can. It's sitting there on your Mac where you can use it as much as you like.For what?I own a Mac an iPhone and an iPad but iMessage and FaceTime are entirely useless to me because no one I communicate with on a regular basis uses Apple devices. Same thing with various iCloud sharing features. Not using the family sharing offers is entirely uneconomical as well.So what happens is that I gravitate to other ecosystems. I use WhatsApp. I upload all my photos
The main problem I had was that apple is a really closed system. I'm not a one OS guy, i always need my stuff to work on windows, Linux, android etc. I don't even use iOS anymore because it's too limited.Most of the things Apple offers in terms of cloud sync don't work on everything so it's a pretty but useless walled garden to me.It's a shame because I was a long standing mac user. Because it was a good and fairly open Unix with a good UI. But since iOS becam
They’re probably ok, but you’re locking yourself in/out should you ever want/need to use a non-Apple device.
Certainly nothing that couldn’t be done on another platform, but Apple has done a great job of locking us in. iMessage (including playing the games via iMessage), FaceTime, the built in location sharing features, sharing app purchases, etc. All easily replaced with alternatives, but the friction to get everyone to switch over is tough. My personal systems almost all run Linux, and I do have an android tablet, but for my main communicator, iOS is just so convenient.
For me, it's how can I get the slick and super convenient integrations between my phone, tablet, and laptop outside of Apple?I am talking about Handoff, Continuity, iPhone mirroring (can use my iPhone and its apps while it remains locked somewhere), AirDrop, Continuity Camera, universal clipboard, iMessage, etc.