[peey]

> there's open source alternatives to Play Services that Google neither litigates against nor seems to actively fight against

AFAIK these are reverse-engineered. Do you sincerely believe that developers' time is best spent reverse engineering and maintaining play services alts to undo a blockade that Google put in, just to be able to get full freedom over their android derivative? Wouldn't it be better spent in playing with cool new tech (as Google engineers seem to be doing)?

[lern_too_spel]

What freedom are they lacking without Play Services?

[dannyw]

The ability to get notifications.

[dragonelite]

yeah there are many options but if 99.99% uses gms on android. Its majority rule as a app developer i would push other services way back down in priority.

[lern_too_spel]

It's possible to get notifications without Play Services. See ADM, OpenPush, etc.

[TheMatten]

It's not about what is possible, it's about what developers eventually pick. While some privacy-focused companies seem to use more open alternatives or even implement the system themselves, most of developers simply stick with Play Services, which makes use of many (even FOSS) apps cumbersome without them.