Its not possible to intercept SMSs with iOS, and its not possible to poll a server or permanently maintain an outstanding HTTP request from the device to a server (unless the app has a valid background mode).
Therefore if there is a requirement to push a notification from a server to the client, is it correct that there is no option other than to us APNS?
If there is a requirement to push a notification from a server to the device and not have the user receive an alert (in the situation when the application is in the background), then it seems this just isn’t possible at all?
Is this correct. Are there any creative workarounds that are legitimate?
You are correct – there is no option but APNS for receiving notifications once an App is in the background.
There is no way to intercept ShortMessages (in background or not). There also is no possible way to permanently poll a server when being in background (which is good because that would drain the battery as it does for Android apps).