amazonwebservicesAmazon has added a new service to its Amazon Web Services division that should make it easier for developers to integrate push notifications into their apps, particularly when developing for multiple platforms.

SNS Mobile Push allows developers to send notifications to iOS, Android and Kindle Fire devices for $1 per million notifications sent, without developing a complicated push notification backend and with Amazon's backing as apps scale to millions of users.

Supporting push notifications at large scale has been incredibly complicated for mobile app developers. Each popular mobile platform maintains a different free relay service that delivers notifications through persistent connections to devices running the platforms they own. This means that to support millions of users on multiple mobile platforms, developers must integrate with each of these platform-specific relay services, which introduces operational complexity and cost. In addition, the nature of mobile app distribution is such that successful apps can become popular almost overnight, exacerbating these challenges for customers.

“Many customers tell us they build and maintain their own mobile push services, even though they find this approach expensive, complex and error-prone,” said Raju Gulabani, Vice President of Database Services, AWS. “Amazon SNS with Mobile Push takes these concerns off the table with one simple cross-platform API, a flat low price and a free tier that means many customers won’t pay anything until their applications achieve scale.”

Smaller developers can integrate the service as well, with Amazon allowing developers to send one million notifications per month for free.

To learn more about Amazon SNS Mobile Push, visit: http://aws.amazon.com/sns.

Top Rated Comments

bbeagle Avatar
125 months ago
Sending the notifications may be free, but one still has to pay for the servers that send the notifications. This service provides that infrastructure for you.

Oh, you're right. Most companies have servers, but for the small developers who don't have servers, Amazon is providing the SERVERS to send the notifications. That's something that might help small developers.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dejo Avatar
125 months ago
Plus, using Google, Apple and Kindle notifications are all free.

Sending the notifications may be free, but one still has to pay for the servers that send the notifications. This service provides that infrastructure for you.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
firewood Avatar
125 months ago
Maybe I don't get it, but if the US has 254M people, would it cost me $254 to spam everyone?

Only if you could get everyone to download your app.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ddelapp Avatar
125 months ago
Windows Azure Notification Hubs

Windows Azure just announced a similar feature yesterday that provides cross platform notifications for Windows Store (WNS), Windows Phone (MPNS), iOS (APNS), and Android (GCM). All good stuff!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nevir Avatar
125 months ago
I don't see how this is a big deal. There are only 3 places to send notifications now. When there are hundreds, it would be a big deal. But if there were hundreds, there would also be hundreds of versions of a developer's software to create.

Plus, using Google, Apple and Kindle notifications are all free. This has a nominal fee, but would still create another bill to pay for a corporation. And trying to get that paperwork through for a new recurring fee would be a nightmare, that most developers would skip it and go the free route.

I'm a developer, and I don't get the need for this. I guess the good parts would be (a) only one interface to learn, not three. (b) Amazon is trying to create a notification 'standard'
There's a lot of complexity in handling push notifications well. For example, I'd be willing to bet that most iOS devs don't bother checking the APNS feedback queue for bad tokens/etc.

The benefit is that you don't have to write and maintain that code. It should be worth it even if you're only supporting a single platform.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 16

iOS 16.4 for iPhone Nearing Launch With These 5 New Features

Monday March 20, 2023 11:50 am PDT by
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April. iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Leak Reveals Unified Volume Button and Mute Button

Monday March 20, 2023 8:33 am PDT by
As previously rumored, the next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a unified volume button and a mute button, according to leaked CAD images shared in a video on the Chinese version of TikTok and posted to Twitter by ShrimpApplePro. Instead of separate buttons for volume up and volume down, the iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have a single elongated button for...
voice isolation

iOS 16.4 Adds Voice Isolation for Cellular Phone Calls

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:01 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 update that is set to be released to the public in the near future includes voice isolation for cellular calls, according to notes that Apple shared today. Apple says that Voice Isolation will prioritize your voice and block out the ambient noise around you, making for clearer phone calls where you can better hear the person you're chatting with and vice versa. Voice...
airpodsd 3 purple 4

iOS 16.4 Seemingly References New AirPods and AirPods Case

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:43 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 release candidate version that was provided to developers today appears to hint at a new set of AirPods that could be coming in the near future. According to @aaronp613, the beta features references to AirPods that have a model number of A3048 and an AirPods case with a model number of A2968. There have been no rumors that new AirPods are on the horizon, and it is early for...
maxresdefault

Nothing Launches $149 Ear (2) Wireless Earbuds to Compete With AirPods Pro 2

Wednesday March 22, 2023 9:48 am PDT by
Nothing today announced the launch of its second-generation wireless earbuds, the Nothing Ear (2), which offer many of the same features as Apple's AirPods Pro 2 at a lower price point. We went hands-on with the Ear (2) earbuds to see whether they're a viable alternative to the AirPods Pro 2 for those who want to save some cash. The Ear (2) earbuds are the successor to the Nothing Ear (1),...
iOS 16

Apple Seeds Release Candidate Versions of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 to Developers [Update: Public RC Available]

Tuesday March 21, 2023 10:25 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after the launch of the fourth betas. The RCs mark the final version of the software that will be provided to the public in the near future. Registered developers are able to download the iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates...
apple park at night 1

Apple 'Tracking Employee Attendance' in Crackdown on Remote Working

Thursday March 23, 2023 3:41 am PDT by
Apple is tracking the attendance of its employees at offices using badge records in order to ensure they are coming in at least three times a week, according to Platformer's Zoë Schiffer. Since April 2022, Apple employees have been operating on a hybrid home/office work policy as part of a gradual return strategy following the pandemic, with staff required to work from the office at least...
iphone 14 pro max deep purple feature purple

iPhone 15 Pro Rumor Recap: 10 New Features and Changes to Expect

Thursday March 23, 2023 6:42 am PDT by
While the iPhone 15 series is still around six months away from launching, there have already been plenty of rumors about the devices. Many new features and changes have been rumored for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in particular. Below, we have recapped 10 changes rumored for iPhone 15 Pro models that are not expected to be available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus:A1...