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[Removed by user]

by ihuman 9y ago

[Removed by user]

thebouv 9y ago
The reasons for this were listed in the actual article. Can't play next song if it is in background, etc. All the tech reasons were listed out.
yourapostasy 9y ago
Along with technical reasons in original article, likely submitting as an app adds a marketing channel, and a big one at that, that wouldn't exist for a pure web app. Would be interested to hear from author if this is indeed the case, and if it was, if he feels the effort is worth the benefits.
- judah 9y ago
  Yep. Before being listed in the app store, I was getting about 5 new users sign-ups per day. Now I am getting about 15.
judah 9y ago
Why build an app and not just live on the web? I answered that in the article, 2nd paragraph. The answer is two-fold: 1. That's where users are. We've trained a generation of users to find apps in app stores. 2. Some mobile platforms (read: iOS) are hostile to web apps. For example, Apple doesn't let you play audio in the background on iOS. (Or rather, they suspend JS execution if the web app is in the background, or if the screen is off. Thus, you can play exactly a single MP3, then my media player app will stop playing music unless it's still in the fore, which is a show-stopper.) This is just one of dozens of issues with web audio in iOS Safari; I've documented more here[0]. Native apps have no such restriction. Thus, packaging my PWA as an app got around all these restrictions. Plus it lets me integrate with the OS, for example, by showing the currently-playing song name, artist, album, art, etc. on the lock screen. [0]: http://debuggerdotbreak.judahgabriel.com/2016/12/13/its-almost-2017-and-html5-audio-is-still-broken-on-ios/ http://debuggerdotbreak.judahgabriel.com/2016/12/13/its-almo...
- inferiorhuman 9y ago
  > Some mobile platforms (read: iOS) are hostile to web apps. I'm OK with that. Web apps are clunkier and provide a worse experience. That Google makes this easier speaks to the sort of UX you get with Android.
  - judah 9y ago
    I understand lock downs for security or user experience (e.g. disallow sites to auto-play video, etc). But restricting web apps to the point they're actually broken? No, that really sucks. Shame on Apple. And if we care about freedom and the opened web, we should not cheer on proprietary, closed platforms like app stores. We should want the opened web to win.
    - inferiorhuman 9y ago
      > I understand lock downs for security or user experience (e.g. disallow sites to auto-play video, etc). But restricting web apps to the point they're actually broken? No, that really sucks. Shame on Apple. Shame on developers for cargo culting web apps over to various mobile platforms. Even on desktop platforms, non-native apps stick out like a sore thumb and generally work poorly (e.g. Slack). Granted I'm okay with my apps not doing autoplay video regardless of whether or not they're native. > And if we care about freedom and the opened web, we should not cheer on proprietary, closed platforms like app stores. We should want the opened web to win. How about the freedom to be rid of phishing apps and spyware? The "opened web" is not an all or nothing idea, and promoting web "apps" over proper native apps isn't a win.
  - kop316 9y ago
    I am not. That reinforces a iOS/Android ecosystem lock in. I personally want to see web apps succeed so it would be easier to move off of those platforms. If that happens, then I would foresee that web apps get first rate treatment and won't be "clunkier"
    - inferiorhuman 9y ago

[Removed by user]

by ihuman 9y ago

[Removed by user]

The reasons for this were listed in the actual article. Can't play next song if it is in background, etc. All the tech reasons were listed out.

yourapostasy 9y ago

Along with technical reasons in original article, likely submitting as an app adds a marketing channel, and a big one at that, that wouldn't exist for a pure web app. Would be interested to hear from author if this is indeed the case, and if it was, if he feels the effort is worth the benefits.

judah 9y ago
Yep. Before being listed in the app store, I was getting about 5 new users sign-ups per day. Now I am getting about 15.

judah 9y ago

Why build an app and not just live on the web? I answered that in the article, 2nd paragraph. The answer is two-fold: 1. That's where users are. We've trained a generation of users to find apps in app stores. 2. Some mobile platforms (read: iOS) are hostile to web apps. For example, Apple doesn't let you play audio in the background on iOS. (Or rather, they suspend JS execution if the web app is in the background, or if the screen is off. Thus, you can play exactly a single MP3, then my media player app will stop playing music unless it's still in the fore, which is a show-stopper.) This is just one of dozens of issues with web audio in iOS Safari; I've documented more here[0]. Native apps have no such restriction. Thus, packaging my PWA as an app got around all these restrictions. Plus it lets me integrate with the OS, for example, by showing the currently-playing song name, artist, album, art, etc. on the lock screen. [0]: http://debuggerdotbreak.judahgabriel.com/2016/12/13/its-almost-2017-and-html5-audio-is-still-broken-on-ios/ http://debuggerdotbreak.judahgabriel.com/2016/12/13/its-almo...

inferiorhuman 9y ago
> Some mobile platforms (read: iOS) are hostile to web apps. I'm OK with that. Web apps are clunkier and provide a worse experience. That Google makes this easier speaks to the sort of UX you get with Android.
- judah 9y ago
  I understand lock downs for security or user experience (e.g. disallow sites to auto-play video, etc). But restricting web apps to the point they're actually broken? No, that really sucks. Shame on Apple. And if we care about freedom and the opened web, we should not cheer on proprietary, closed platforms like app stores. We should want the opened web to win.
  - inferiorhuman 9y ago
    > I understand lock downs for security or user experience (e.g. disallow sites to auto-play video, etc). But restricting web apps to the point they're actually broken? No, that really sucks. Shame on Apple. Shame on developers for cargo culting web apps over to various mobile platforms. Even on desktop platforms, non-native apps stick out like a sore thumb and generally work poorly (e.g. Slack). Granted I'm okay with my apps not doing autoplay video regardless of whether or not they're native. > And if we care about freedom and the opened web, we should not cheer on proprietary, closed platforms like app stores. We should want the opened web to win. How about the freedom to be rid of phishing apps and spyware? The "opened web" is not an all or nothing idea, and promoting web "apps" over proper native apps isn't a win.
- kop316 9y ago
  I am not. That reinforces a iOS/Android ecosystem lock in. I personally want to see web apps succeed so it would be easier to move off of those platforms. If that happens, then I would foresee that web apps get first rate treatment and won't be "clunkier"
  - inferiorhuman 9y ago