5 ms·

Progressive web apps which unfortunately don't work on iOS.

untog 8y ago
Safari supports them now. Not the full API, but enough for a porn or gambling app to get by (but then, so is a non-progressive web app, I'm not sure what they're doing that really warrants a native app)
- phreack 8y ago
  Push notifications, most likely
ziont 8y ago
and takes forever to load on a typical cellular network in Canada. Fuck PWAs, I've seen some retailers who ditched it because it ended up hurting their conversions. Certain demographics DO NOT want to see stare at fucking blank page with grey rectangles because it offers 'superior customer experience essential'. They want webpages that load fast, they don't even give a shit about Responsive designs. Yeah, if the entire world was on 5g already, but even then, people simply don't trust PWAs vs apps from the Google or Apple store. In their minds, its safer because a large corporation is "looking after" them. PWA and AMP are a dud, and the lack of adoption shows this.
- untog 8y ago
  Seems like you're confusing a number of things here. Progressive web apps can be cached offline and load instantly. They typically have smaller download sizes than native apps. There's zero reason for a PWA to take longer to load than a web page because a PWA is a web page. Perhaps your complaint is with Single Page Apps? That's a legitimate complaint, but doesn't really have a lot to do with PWAs. > they don't even give a shit about Responsive designs. Users don't know what "responsive design is". But conversion stats for sites that have a specific mobile layout vs ones where you're pinch-and-zooming constantly show that users are a lot more productive on sites with a mobile view.
  - reaperducer 8y ago
    Progressive web apps can be cached offline and load instantly They only load instantly once they've been cached. Until then, it's Grey Rectangle City, and the user moves on.
    - untog 8y ago
      Yeah, on first load they load... like a web page. Because they are a web page. "Grey rectangle city" is not something a progressive web app does unless the creator of the app tells it to. Like I said, it sounds like the complaint is with single page apps, not with progressive web apps. I guess I'm not sure what the preferred alternative is here? First load of a native app involves going to an app store and downloading a multi-megabyte app. A PWA involves loading a normal web site, then once it has loaded, cache resources to allow instant loading in the future. I know which one of those two I'd prefer.
      - ziont 8y ago
        > First load of a native app involves going to an app store and downloading a multi-megabyte app whats wrong with that? > A PWA involves loading a normal web site, then once it has loaded, cache resources to allow instant loading in the future. yes, ONCE it has loaded. But the first experience is always going to inferior to installing apps through Google or Apple store. ex) SHOW HN: Send AI painting of your selfies PWA! reply dang 1 hour ago | on: ShOW HN: Send AI.pwa so we are supposed to trust you with our selfies? who are you again? certainly not Google. no thanks bye turd 4 hour ago | on : Show HN: Send ai.pwa I went to the URL and it asked for notification and added to my home screen. Oh not to mention it took a whole 5 seconds to load on my shit Canadian 4g LTE. Now it's draining my battery life and I have 20 tabs open in Chrome. Flag this shit. OP 3 minutes ago lol stfu mang, im move to thailand with my ladyboy gf.
        untog 8y ago
        You seriously think going to an App Store, searching for an app, waiting for it to download 10s of megabytes (potentially over a slow connection), and then opening the app is a better experience than opening a web page? I have no idea what your quoted passage is, by the way. If one of the complaints in there is "it took a whole 5 seconds to download", how on earth is the App Store alternative better? There's literally zero chance of getting an App Store app downloaded and opened in 5 seconds.
- mises 8y ago
  > Yeah, if the entire world was on 5g already Even if the world was, I still wouldn't like it. Lightweight webpages are infinitely superior. Data is still expensive, particularly for those of us who can't afford unlimited.

Safari supports them now. Not the full API, but enough for a porn or gambling app to get by (but then, so is a non-progressive web app, I'm not sure what they're doing that really warrants a native app)

phreack 8y ago
Push notifications, most likely

ziont 8y ago

and takes forever to load on a typical cellular network in Canada. Fuck PWAs, I've seen some retailers who ditched it because it ended up hurting their conversions. Certain demographics DO NOT want to see stare at fucking blank page with grey rectangles because it offers 'superior customer experience essential'. They want webpages that load fast, they don't even give a shit about Responsive designs. Yeah, if the entire world was on 5g already, but even then, people simply don't trust PWAs vs apps from the Google or Apple store. In their minds, its safer because a large corporation is "looking after" them. PWA and AMP are a dud, and the lack of adoption shows this.

untog 8y ago
Seems like you're confusing a number of things here. Progressive web apps can be cached offline and load instantly. They typically have smaller download sizes than native apps. There's zero reason for a PWA to take longer to load than a web page because a PWA is a web page. Perhaps your complaint is with Single Page Apps? That's a legitimate complaint, but doesn't really have a lot to do with PWAs. > they don't even give a shit about Responsive designs. Users don't know what "responsive design is". But conversion stats for sites that have a specific mobile layout vs ones where you're pinch-and-zooming constantly show that users are a lot more productive on sites with a mobile view.
- reaperducer 8y ago
  Progressive web apps can be cached offline and load instantly They only load instantly once they've been cached. Until then, it's Grey Rectangle City, and the user moves on.
  - untog 8y ago
    Yeah, on first load they load... like a web page. Because they are a web page. "Grey rectangle city" is not something a progressive web app does unless the creator of the app tells it to. Like I said, it sounds like the complaint is with single page apps, not with progressive web apps. I guess I'm not sure what the preferred alternative is here? First load of a native app involves going to an app store and downloading a multi-megabyte app. A PWA involves loading a normal web site, then once it has loaded, cache resources to allow instant loading in the future. I know which one of those two I'd prefer.
    - ziont 8y ago
      > First load of a native app involves going to an app store and downloading a multi-megabyte app whats wrong with that? > A PWA involves loading a normal web site, then once it has loaded, cache resources to allow instant loading in the future. yes, ONCE it has loaded. But the first experience is always going to inferior to installing apps through Google or Apple store. ex) SHOW HN: Send AI painting of your selfies PWA! reply dang 1 hour ago | on: ShOW HN: Send AI.pwa so we are supposed to trust you with our selfies? who are you again? certainly not Google. no thanks bye turd 4 hour ago | on : Show HN: Send ai.pwa I went to the URL and it asked for notification and added to my home screen. Oh not to mention it took a whole 5 seconds to load on my shit Canadian 4g LTE. Now it's draining my battery life and I have 20 tabs open in Chrome. Flag this shit. OP 3 minutes ago lol stfu mang, im move to thailand with my ladyboy gf.
      - untog 8y ago
        You seriously think going to an App Store, searching for an app, waiting for it to download 10s of megabytes (potentially over a slow connection), and then opening the app is a better experience than opening a web page? I have no idea what your quoted passage is, by the way. If one of the complaints in there is "it took a whole 5 seconds to download", how on earth is the App Store alternative better? There's literally zero chance of getting an App Store app downloaded and opened in 5 seconds.
mises 8y ago
> Yeah, if the entire world was on 5g already Even if the world was, I still wouldn't like it. Lightweight webpages are infinitely superior. Data is still expensive, particularly for those of us who can't afford unlimited.