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> For users that don't have a technical background: if it isn't in the app store then it essentially isn't an app I'm not convinced of this. If it has an icon
by MaxBarraclough 7y ago
> For users that don't have a technical background: if it isn't in the app store then it essentially isn't an app
I'm not convinced of this. If it has an icon like proper apps, and feels like an app, I don't think users are going to mind if it came from the App Store.
The question is whether the unfamiliar 'installation' process is too fiddly for non-technical users. I don't think it is. I figure a 10 second How to install our app animation would do the job.
- chrisfinazzo 7y agoI think this is a problem of their own creation - done in the name of simplicity which has outlived its usefulness, but to take it back now would be chaos. A closed, curated app store gave less technical users the confidence to actually download software without concern that it would screw up their device. However, things which have a different model like web apps or system extensions (read: keyboards) were also put into the same distribution mechanism. You can see why as it removes a barrier to using them: people just go the same place they've always gone to get software on the platform. They make no distinction between the native Gmail app and GIF Keyboard because the install process is the same and each are displayed prominently. In reality, 3rd party keyboards and the like should probably be handled - from a UI standpoint - like they are on macOS, inside System Preferences/Settings, with no app icon on the homescreen, they simply aren't as important as full blown apps. ^ People will dispute this and that's really nice...but they're wrong.
- ratww 7y agoI've seen a lot of news sites and random WordPress blogs doing that. It has become spam, just like news sites asking to send notifications.