6 ms·

What is the inconvenience of apps?

by jchendy 10y ago

nsomaru 10y ago
Needing to install, open and update an application to use a service as opposed to the 'convenience' of just entering a URL in a browser.
- rimantas 10y ago
  Web page does not need opening? Interesting… Updates happen automatically now.
  - maelito 10y ago
    After installing it, you need to open it (ok, it's easy). Updates frequently require approval of new permissions (android).
    - mdadm 10y ago
      But the alternative seems to be browser exposing APIs for all those permissions through Javascript and the end-user not really having any control over that. Perhaps I'm just naive about it, since I really don't do Javascript-based development, but this seems to be a worse idea than apps.
  - technomancy 10y ago
    Web pages don't require uninstalling when you decide they're not worth it.
Touche 10y ago
Having to install them, remember what screen and folder it's in, etc.
- rimantas 10y ago
  How much work is installing the app? Single tap? The same of less than opening a web page? No need to remember screen and folder, just use global search on your phone.
  - Touche 10y ago
    Similar, but web pages are usable before fully "installed". Data has repeated shown that users quickly abandon websites that don't load extremely fast. Apps are like that, but even slower. It's simple, when you want to do X, you want to do X, you don't want to do a lot of setup work before you start doing X.
    - rimantas 10y ago
      In what world native apps are slower than web apps? And where do you find "extremely fast" websites, with all this JS frameworks crap and gazillion of trackers being pushed to your poor browser?
      - Touche 10y ago
        In ever world since you have to install them and you don't have to install web apps.
      - imtringued 10y ago
        Where do you find those extremely small native apps that are smaller than a website?
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - uryga 10y ago
    Well, it's not a lot of work. But it feels like way more work. It's visible even in the way we talk about it - "viewing a website" vs "getting an app". Looking at something is effortless, getting it implies effort. Often, too much of it, if I just want to check some stuff out quickly. Also, I feel like after installing an app, it takes more time to get to the actual content, because every app has a few screens of "Welcome to Foo! Here's how you do stuff in here." Websites are pretty instant compared to that.
- redial 10y ago
  > remember what screen and folder it's in How is this fixed by a web app you have to remember the address for, or at best, remember where on your favorites you saved it?
molf 10y ago
Besides having to wait for the installation, one important recurring inconvenience for me (on iOS) is the lack of autofill. Especially autofilled user names and passwords.
- johncolanduoni 10y ago
  I really wish Apple would add a password-manager extension point to iOS. Since they're trying to push iCloud Keychain I'm not optimistic about this happening, but it would be a really nice way to make password managers more attractive.
  - strange_quark 10y ago
    Maybe it's just specific apps integrating with 1Password, but Mint, among other apps, already can do this (and it brings up what appears to be an iOS share sheet). But this feature has largely become irrelevant to me thanks to almost every app I use that requires sign-in supporting Touch ID.
  - djrogers 10y ago
    > I really wish Apple would add a password-manager extension point to iOS. They kinda have in 2 ways - as of iOS 9 or 10 your app can utilize login credentials from your web domain name if certain requirements are met, and there's touchID for instant login after the first authentication.
  - rahoulb 10y ago
    I use Lastpass and a lot of apps offer a weird icon next to the password box that opens a share sheet with LastPass as an option.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
maelito 10y ago
On lots of old android devices: having to remove apps to make room for a new one
- michaelmrose 10y ago
  Even when you have tons of spaces on a huge sdcard even. This is incredibly frustrating as some devices were shipped with very very little space and too much of that taken up by the stuff that shipped with the phone that for whatever reason cannot be moved to your relatively large sdcard. I think merged storage is either here in the latest version of android or coming which will hopefully let us stop worrying about storage again but many devices will sadly never see the update.
bryanlarsen 10y ago
If you see an interesting link on the web, you generally feel safe clicking on it, and often click on it. Sometimes you get rick-rolled or whatever, but you just hit back. If you see an ad or pop-up article about an app, what are the chances you install it, even if it looks interesting?
- millstone 10y ago
  I feel very safe installing apps on my iOS devices. The sandboxing and app store review process gives me confidence that it's not going to be malware. I click on links more than I install apps because loading web pages is a lot faster than installing apps. The flip side is that I hardly ever return to those "interesting links," while I use my installed apps frequently.
  - pswilson14 10y ago
    Most people only use 4-6 apps a day, or less. Users are spending more and more time in fewer apps. I reckon a good bit of that is the friction of installing new apps.
  - frankzinger 10y ago
    > The sandboxing and app store review process gives me confidence that it's not going to be malware. I would re-evaluate that stance if I were you: http://www.wired.co.uk/article/xcode-apple-app-store-hack http://www.wired.co.uk/article/xcode-apple-app-store-hack. Hundreds of apps injected with malware by a compromised version of Xcode made it through the App Store review process.

What is the inconvenience of apps?

by jchendy 10y ago

What is the inconvenience of apps?

Needing to install, open and update an application to use a service as opposed to the 'convenience' of just entering a URL in a browser.

rimantas 10y ago
Web page does not need opening? Interesting… Updates happen automatically now.
- maelito 10y ago
  After installing it, you need to open it (ok, it's easy). Updates frequently require approval of new permissions (android).
  - mdadm 10y ago
    But the alternative seems to be browser exposing APIs for all those permissions through Javascript and the end-user not really having any control over that. Perhaps I'm just naive about it, since I really don't do Javascript-based development, but this seems to be a worse idea than apps.
- technomancy 10y ago
  Web pages don't require uninstalling when you decide they're not worth it.

Touche 10y ago

Having to install them, remember what screen and folder it's in, etc.

rimantas 10y ago
How much work is installing the app? Single tap? The same of less than opening a web page? No need to remember screen and folder, just use global search on your phone.
- Touche 10y ago
  Similar, but web pages are usable before fully "installed". Data has repeated shown that users quickly abandon websites that don't load extremely fast. Apps are like that, but even slower. It's simple, when you want to do X, you want to do X, you don't want to do a lot of setup work before you start doing X.
  - rimantas 10y ago
    In what world native apps are slower than web apps? And where do you find "extremely fast" websites, with all this JS frameworks crap and gazillion of trackers being pushed to your poor browser?
    - Touche 10y ago
      In ever world since you have to install them and you don't have to install web apps.
    - imtringued 10y ago
      Where do you find those extremely small native apps that are smaller than a website?
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- uryga 10y ago
  Well, it's not a lot of work. But it feels like way more work. It's visible even in the way we talk about it - "viewing a website" vs "getting an app". Looking at something is effortless, getting it implies effort. Often, too much of it, if I just want to check some stuff out quickly. Also, I feel like after installing an app, it takes more time to get to the actual content, because every app has a few screens of "Welcome to Foo! Here's how you do stuff in here." Websites are pretty instant compared to that.
redial 10y ago
> remember what screen and folder it's in How is this fixed by a web app you have to remember the address for, or at best, remember where on your favorites you saved it?

molf 10y ago

Besides having to wait for the installation, one important recurring inconvenience for me (on iOS) is the lack of autofill. Especially autofilled user names and passwords.

johncolanduoni 10y ago
I really wish Apple would add a password-manager extension point to iOS. Since they're trying to push iCloud Keychain I'm not optimistic about this happening, but it would be a really nice way to make password managers more attractive.
- strange_quark 10y ago
  Maybe it's just specific apps integrating with 1Password, but Mint, among other apps, already can do this (and it brings up what appears to be an iOS share sheet). But this feature has largely become irrelevant to me thanks to almost every app I use that requires sign-in supporting Touch ID.
- djrogers 10y ago
  > I really wish Apple would add a password-manager extension point to iOS. They kinda have in 2 ways - as of iOS 9 or 10 your app can utilize login credentials from your web domain name if certain requirements are met, and there's touchID for instant login after the first authentication.
- rahoulb 10y ago
  I use Lastpass and a lot of apps offer a weird icon next to the password box that opens a share sheet with LastPass as an option.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

maelito 10y ago

On lots of old android devices: having to remove apps to make room for a new one

michaelmrose 10y ago
Even when you have tons of spaces on a huge sdcard even. This is incredibly frustrating as some devices were shipped with very very little space and too much of that taken up by the stuff that shipped with the phone that for whatever reason cannot be moved to your relatively large sdcard. I think merged storage is either here in the latest version of android or coming which will hopefully let us stop worrying about storage again but many devices will sadly never see the update.

bryanlarsen 10y ago

If you see an interesting link on the web, you generally feel safe clicking on it, and often click on it. Sometimes you get rick-rolled or whatever, but you just hit back. If you see an ad or pop-up article about an app, what are the chances you install it, even if it looks interesting?

millstone 10y ago
I feel very safe installing apps on my iOS devices. The sandboxing and app store review process gives me confidence that it's not going to be malware. I click on links more than I install apps because loading web pages is a lot faster than installing apps. The flip side is that I hardly ever return to those "interesting links," while I use my installed apps frequently.
- pswilson14 10y ago
  Most people only use 4-6 apps a day, or less. Users are spending more and more time in fewer apps. I reckon a good bit of that is the friction of installing new apps.
- frankzinger 10y ago
  > The sandboxing and app store review process gives me confidence that it's not going to be malware. I would re-evaluate that stance if I were you: http://www.wired.co.uk/article/xcode-apple-app-store-hack http://www.wired.co.uk/article/xcode-apple-app-store-hack. Hundreds of apps injected with malware by a compromised version of Xcode made it through the App Store review process.