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App Store News: The Right Stuff Dating App, Google and Apple Text Wars, Russia Presses Google

August 12th, 2022

App Store News: The Right Stuff Dating App, Google and Apple Text Wars, Russia Presses Google
Anh Nguyen

by Anh Nguyen

COO & Co-Founder at Gummicube, Inc

Welcome to this week’s ASO Weekly – Gummicube’s recurring segment where we discuss some of the biggest events in the mobile app industry, app store developments, and how they may affect your App Store Optimization (ASO) strategy.

This week, we’ll be exploring:

  • New Right-wing dating app launching in September
  • Google pushes Apple to adopt a new text messaging system
  • Russia doubles down on information censorship against Google

Right-wing dating app “The Right Stuff” stirring controversy

When a new dating app enters the scene, we don’t often see a category of them dedicated to political affiliation. According to a Pew Research study, the rate of political polarization in America has nearly doubled since 2014. It’s no surprise that users may be looking for a dating app that reflects these sentiments. But is “The Right Stuff” really the right stuff? The public seems divided.

The app features and functionality is similar to a competing app, Bumble, where women make the first move. This isn’t the first conservative app on the market, however. Righter, Donald Dater among others, but this one seems to have official backing from once Trump-era exec Peter Thiel. Many have called out that the app touts problematic slogans like “no pronouns necessary” bolstering long-winded culture wars.

Will their app launch be successful? Based on other conservative-driven apps, the future doesn’t look too bright. Dating criteria like political affiliations are an option on major dating apps and from a feature standpoint, the app doesn’t offer more than some of the big players.

Google Touts Apple to Rid its OS of the “Green Chat Bubble”

Android developer, Google, pushes Apple to move to the Rich Communication System (RCS) messaging system.

Twillio defines RCS as:

“RCS (Rich Communication Services) is a next-generation SMS protocol that upgrades text messaging. Rich features like payments, high-res photo & file sharing, location sharing, video calls, and much more, are delivered to a device's default messaging app.”

Apple currently uses the standard SMS messaging system, but why do text messaging features like this matter? Small incongruencies in operating system features significantly raise the barriers to entry in the smartphone market – more specifically the cost of switching. Cost of switching barriers can be both monetary and/or psychological. In the case of iOS and Android users, staunch differences in user experience might be a differentiation tactic, but it might also signify that some features are intended to refrain from switching.

This push also comes after Apple announced a switch to the universal USB-C charging port. The Lightning cable came under scrutiny in the EU first, where the unique type of charger spurred accusations of anti-competitive practices.

Russia Adds Pressure On Google as Ukrainian News Overage Seeps into Russia

Our ASO company has been closely following the developments in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in the tech sector. More recently, Google got slapped with a $375M fine for allowing prohibited news on social media platforms like YouTube.

After Russia initiated the attack on Ukraine, Google significantly removed its services from the country. Google stopped billing on the Play Store and Youtube, restricted Google News, and limited Google Play access and Android sales.

In Russia’s continuous propaganda wars, it may be difficult to see a future for Google and Apple in the country. Limited access to a plethora of user-facing services may brew distrust and negative public sentiments. What will the future of Silicon Valley tech be in Russia? Will it be financially feasible for companies like Google to stay?

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