An issue easily solved by the user pressing "Refresh" on a Web page, or the provider designing a page that refreshes itself at 30-second intervals, and avoiding this entire brouhaha.
If the app was something other than an obvious and trivial Google Maps incarnation, this might be different, and I am in no way excusing Apple's paternalistic behavior, but it isn't as though the content is being suppressed by their decision.
It's better overall if this is a Web page -- it lifts the restriction of being an iOS app, it opens the source to anyone with a working browser. It's a more robust solution to what seems to be a non-problem.
I still think you're missing the point. The point was someone would be going about their normal day, and intermittently receive notifications of a disturbing event from the phone in their pocket. A webpage breaks this, as users have to seek out the information.
Again, this app is more a creative endeavor than a tool. The author is thinking of ways to make people more aware of something, forcing them to think about it during their day, not trying to give them raw information. (Granted, one must still decide they want to be forced to think about this during their day, as they have to install the app and allow push notifications.)
I'm also not making any judgements on Apple or the app itself. I'm just trying to explain what I think the creators' intentions are, and why a webpage is not suited for those intentions.
If the app was something other than an obvious and trivial Google Maps incarnation, this might be different, and I am in no way excusing Apple's paternalistic behavior, but it isn't as though the content is being suppressed by their decision.
It's better overall if this is a Web page -- it lifts the restriction of being an iOS app, it opens the source to anyone with a working browser. It's a more robust solution to what seems to be a non-problem.