3 ms·

Because the apps ecosystem is getting more and more locked into Play Services, which are not part of AOSP.

by rockdoe 11y ago

5ilv3r 11y ago
Fdroid apps work well for me. I did not install gapps at all.
criddell 11y ago
And how is the app ecosystem on other open source mobile operating systems?
- rockdoe 11y ago
  The internet is pretty fine, except for a prevalence of webkit only sites on mobile.
  - criddell 11y ago
    Do you really think so? What are some of the best internet apps? I think a native app will always give a better experience because they can always just contain a browser view (it's basically a superset). Plus native code will always be more efficient and in mobile, that matters.
    - rockdoe 11y ago
      A native app is already lost at the start because it requires the user to install it. Also at least on Android I don't buy the efficiency argument at all, Java and JavaScript are both JITed. You think Java JITs better than asm.js? The integration argument is decent, but it's only really relevant for apps that get a lot of use, not the long tail of stuff that you use once or twice.
      - criddell 11y ago
        > A native app is already lost at the start because it requires the user to install it The billions of installed apps indicates that the friction isn't significant. > I don't buy the efficiency argument at all, Java and JavaScript are both JITed That's how everything worked back in the Gingerbread days. Android's ART system compiles applications to native code when they are installed. You can also install actual native code with Android's NDK. If you like the idea of asm.js, then you should check out Go on Android. It does the same thing - offers a restricted set of the language that runs very fast. There's definitely a subset of apps that work very well in a browser. But you can do more, faster, with lower power consumption with native apps.

3 ms·

Because the apps ecosystem is getting more and more locked into Play Services, which are not part of AOSP.

by rockdoe 11y ago

Because the apps ecosystem is getting more and more locked into Play Services, which are not part of AOSP.

5ilv3r 11y ago
Fdroid apps work well for me. I did not install gapps at all.
criddell 11y ago
And how is the app ecosystem on other open source mobile operating systems?
- rockdoe 11y ago
  The internet is pretty fine, except for a prevalence of webkit only sites on mobile.
  - criddell 11y ago
    Do you really think so? What are some of the best internet apps? I think a native app will always give a better experience because they can always just contain a browser view (it's basically a superset). Plus native code will always be more efficient and in mobile, that matters.
    - rockdoe 11y ago
      A native app is already lost at the start because it requires the user to install it. Also at least on Android I don't buy the efficiency argument at all, Java and JavaScript are both JITed. You think Java JITs better than asm.js? The integration argument is decent, but it's only really relevant for apps that get a lot of use, not the long tail of stuff that you use once or twice.
      - criddell 11y ago
        > A native app is already lost at the start because it requires the user to install it The billions of installed apps indicates that the friction isn't significant. > I don't buy the efficiency argument at all, Java and JavaScript are both JITed That's how everything worked back in the Gingerbread days. Android's ART system compiles applications to native code when they are installed. You can also install actual native code with Android's NDK. If you like the idea of asm.js, then you should check out Go on Android. It does the same thing - offers a restricted set of the language that runs very fast. There's definitely a subset of apps that work very well in a browser. But you can do more, faster, with lower power consumption with native apps.