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For most apps (and especially for apps which have a lot of text like Slack), Native is overkill and suboptimal though some people claim otherwise. You lose stan

by jeswin 9y ago

For most apps (and especially for apps which have a lot of text like Slack), Native is overkill and suboptimal though some people claim otherwise. You lose standard functionality like Copy, Partial Text Selection, Web Search (Selection), Share (text selection) with Whatsapp, Messenger, Copy Link etc. All of which come free with a Browser view. Even in a shopping app (where Native isn't so disadvantaged), a Browser View lets you do a quick google search on the product or company. Once browsers become faster, I'm hoping native will get relegated to games. If OS vendors are listening, a way to install web apps beyond (a) "Click the three dots and Add to Homescreen" or (b) the PWA thing. Maybe just let web apps into the app store. It's not like the Appstore has a high bar on quality these days, anyway.

vintagedave 9y ago
> Native is overkill and suboptimal though some people claim otherwise. You lose standard functionality like Copy, Partial Text Selection, Web Search (Selection), Share (text selection) with Whatsapp, Messenger, Copy Link etc. All of which come free with a Browser view. Whoa, no. One of the points of having native is to /have/ standard functionality. Native copy/paste, native sharing, etc. All those things have to be implemented and hooked up to by the browser or JS library, otherwise. Not to mention native controls, the native UI behaviour, etc which is otherwise mimicked.
kitsunesoba 9y ago
>For most apps (and especially for apps which have a lot of text like Slack), Native is overkill and suboptimal though some people claim otherwise. You lose standard functionality like Copy, Partial Text Selection, Web Search (Selection), Share (text selection) with Whatsapp, Messenger, Copy Link etc. All of which come free with a Browser view. I can't speak for Android, but under iOS you get all of that for free if you're using UITextViews that have selection enabled (as opposed to UILabels). It'll also give you Wikipedia/Dictionary/Thesaurus lookup popover, data detectors (auto-linking dates, etc) and more. There is functionality somewhat unique to browsers, sure, but it's a smaller set than you may think and in many cases, dropping in a resource intensive WebView for a couple of little perks is what's overkill. Personally, my feelings are that if your app is mostly a webview, just stick with a web page. There's little benefit adding a wrapper, and it strips control away from me as a user (no blockers, etc).
- icelancer 9y ago
  >>Personally, my feelings are that if your app is mostly a webview, just stick with a web page. I agree, but it is clear that those who grew up with phones do not. Apps dominate the marketplace and use space for millenials.

by jeswin 9y ago

vintagedave 9y ago

> Native is overkill and suboptimal though some people claim otherwise. You lose standard functionality like Copy, Partial Text Selection, Web Search (Selection), Share (text selection) with Whatsapp, Messenger, Copy Link etc. All of which come free with a Browser view. Whoa, no. One of the points of having native is to /have/ standard functionality. Native copy/paste, native sharing, etc. All those things have to be implemented and hooked up to by the browser or JS library, otherwise. Not to mention native controls, the native UI behaviour, etc which is otherwise mimicked.

kitsunesoba 9y ago

>For most apps (and especially for apps which have a lot of text like Slack), Native is overkill and suboptimal though some people claim otherwise. You lose standard functionality like Copy, Partial Text Selection, Web Search (Selection), Share (text selection) with Whatsapp, Messenger, Copy Link etc. All of which come free with a Browser view. I can't speak for Android, but under iOS you get all of that for free if you're using UITextViews that have selection enabled (as opposed to UILabels). It'll also give you Wikipedia/Dictionary/Thesaurus lookup popover, data detectors (auto-linking dates, etc) and more. There is functionality somewhat unique to browsers, sure, but it's a smaller set than you may think and in many cases, dropping in a resource intensive WebView for a couple of little perks is what's overkill. Personally, my feelings are that if your app is mostly a webview, just stick with a web page. There's little benefit adding a wrapper, and it strips control away from me as a user (no blockers, etc).

icelancer 9y ago
>>Personally, my feelings are that if your app is mostly a webview, just stick with a web page. I agree, but it is clear that those who grew up with phones do not. Apps dominate the marketplace and use space for millenials.