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I believe that if you look at this moment a year from now, it will be a major inflection point, bringing reddit to a much larger audience. We're all tech savvy

I believe that if you look at this moment a year from now, it will be a major inflection point, bringing reddit to a much larger audience. We're all tech savvy on this site and may not mind monkeying with the previous third-party apps, but there's a much wider audience that will be willing to use a well-supported first-party app.

ProAm 11y ago
The problem is no one really uses apps anymore. Especially to view a website when you already have a mobile app that does that for you (your browser). This feature is 3 years too late in my mind to be a needle mover.
- sn0v 11y ago
  > The problem is no one really uses apps anymore This might be a bit of a generalization. People tend to use apps for websites they visit very frequently (eg more than 2-3x a day). Even more so when the mobile version of the website is rife with bugs and/or limitations. Reddit's mobile site is passable but the third party apps blow it out of the water on both iOS and Android.
  - ProAm 11y ago
    Just basing it on research Ive seen [1][2][3] and my own personal use. If the reddit application is feature poor, there isnt a reason to not use the web version, maybe with an extension or two to make it awesome. [1] http://qz.com/253618/most-smartphone-users-download-zero-apps-per-month/ http://qz.com/253618/most-smartphone-users-download-zero-app... [2] http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/mobile/most-people-download-zero-apps-month-n186866 http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/mobile/most-people-download-zero... [3] http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/22/consumers-spend-85-of-time-on-smartphones-in-apps-but-only-5-apps-see-heavy-use/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/22/consumers-spend-85-of-time-...
  - freehunter 11y ago
    Supporting anecdote: my wife won't use Windows Phone or Windows tablets because the Pinterest app apparently sucks on those platforms. Counter anecdote: I refuse to use the Facebook app on iOS because it takes like 500mb and the website works about 90% the same.
- j2bax 11y ago
  I still use mobile apps. I'm somebody?! Just a short list: Alien Blue, Craigslist+, Google News, NPR News, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. That said, there are quite a few websites/web apps I save to my home screen (like HN) on my iPhone as well for instant access. If there is a well designed mobile app (for a service I enjoy) that takes advantage of the OS's built in features, I typically use it.
- sigmar 11y ago
  >The problem is no one really uses apps anymore. This is an absurd comment. Even some of the various unofficial reddit apps have 5-10 million of downloads each. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andrewshu.android.reddit https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andrewshu.... https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onelouder.baconreader https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onelouder....
  - ProAm 11y ago
    Most people download zero apps [1] [1] http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/mobile/most-people-download-zero-apps-month-n186866 http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/mobile/most-people-download-zero...
    - kellyjprice 11y ago
      *per month.
    - iLoch 11y ago
      Zero on average every 3 months is a lot different than zero ever. Reddit is a website most of its users use long term, not some random app you might use once a week or once a month. Their app will be downloaded a lot, and having tens of millions of downloads on unofficial apps is proof of that.
      - ProAm 11y ago
        16% of people use an app more than twice [1] 26% of apps are only opened once [2] [1] http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/16-percent-of-mobile-userstry-out-a-buggy-app-more-than-twice/ http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/16-percent-of-mobile-use... [2] http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/03/21/app.engagement.gahran/ http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/03/21/app.engagement.gah...
        iLoch 11y ago
        Nice strawman you're building there. We're talking about reddit, a unicorn by most standards - at least in terms of user base. This isn't some random app with no promotion or user base.

ProAm 11y ago

The problem is no one really uses apps anymore. Especially to view a website when you already have a mobile app that does that for you (your browser). This feature is 3 years too late in my mind to be a needle mover.

sn0v 11y ago
> The problem is no one really uses apps anymore This might be a bit of a generalization. People tend to use apps for websites they visit very frequently (eg more than 2-3x a day). Even more so when the mobile version of the website is rife with bugs and/or limitations. Reddit's mobile site is passable but the third party apps blow it out of the water on both iOS and Android.
- ProAm 11y ago
  Just basing it on research Ive seen [1][2][3] and my own personal use. If the reddit application is feature poor, there isnt a reason to not use the web version, maybe with an extension or two to make it awesome. [1] http://qz.com/253618/most-smartphone-users-download-zero-apps-per-month/ http://qz.com/253618/most-smartphone-users-download-zero-app... [2] http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/mobile/most-people-download-zero-apps-month-n186866 http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/mobile/most-people-download-zero... [3] http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/22/consumers-spend-85-of-time-on-smartphones-in-apps-but-only-5-apps-see-heavy-use/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/22/consumers-spend-85-of-time-...
- freehunter 11y ago
  Supporting anecdote: my wife won't use Windows Phone or Windows tablets because the Pinterest app apparently sucks on those platforms. Counter anecdote: I refuse to use the Facebook app on iOS because it takes like 500mb and the website works about 90% the same.
j2bax 11y ago
I still use mobile apps. I'm somebody?! Just a short list: Alien Blue, Craigslist+, Google News, NPR News, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. That said, there are quite a few websites/web apps I save to my home screen (like HN) on my iPhone as well for instant access. If there is a well designed mobile app (for a service I enjoy) that takes advantage of the OS's built in features, I typically use it.
sigmar 11y ago
>The problem is no one really uses apps anymore. This is an absurd comment. Even some of the various unofficial reddit apps have 5-10 million of downloads each. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andrewshu.android.reddit https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andrewshu.... https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onelouder.baconreader https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onelouder....
- ProAm 11y ago
  Most people download zero apps [1] [1] http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/mobile/most-people-download-zero-apps-month-n186866 http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/mobile/most-people-download-zero...
  - kellyjprice 11y ago
    *per month.
  - iLoch 11y ago
    Zero on average every 3 months is a lot different than zero ever. Reddit is a website most of its users use long term, not some random app you might use once a week or once a month. Their app will be downloaded a lot, and having tens of millions of downloads on unofficial apps is proof of that.
    - ProAm 11y ago
      16% of people use an app more than twice [1] 26% of apps are only opened once [2] [1] http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/16-percent-of-mobile-userstry-out-a-buggy-app-more-than-twice/ http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/16-percent-of-mobile-use... [2] http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/03/21/app.engagement.gahran/ http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/03/21/app.engagement.gah...
      - iLoch 11y ago
        Nice strawman you're building there. We're talking about reddit, a unicorn by most standards - at least in terms of user base. This isn't some random app with no promotion or user base.