4 ms·

> There's no reason they can't have PWAs work well in Safari other than they want you to port your app to the App Store and get locked into their native APIs.

by vosper 7y ago

> There's no reason they can't have PWAs work well in Safari other than they want you to port your app to the App Store and get locked into their native APIs. Is it possible they also want you to port your app to the App Store to prevent an explosion of garbage and malware that could happen if PWAs really took off?

jamiesonbecker 7y ago
> to prevent an explosion of garbage and malware that could happen if PWAs really took off? You mean, like the Internet. The App Store is a nice, safe walled garden, like AOL.
- edmundsauto 7y ago
  This is one of the primary value props of the platform.
  - ethbro 7y ago
    Value to whom?
    - leadingthenet 7y ago
      To me, as a user of the device. Native apps can be a joy to use, websites almost never are.
      - hpen 7y ago
        Sure, but this is usually because of UX reasons and less because of performance or capabilities
  - Grimm1 7y ago
    And is anti-competitive and gives Apple and Google too much power over a device I own.
franga2000 7y ago
I seriously doubt that. It's a lot more difficult to do horrible things with PWAs than it is with native apps. Apple has a history of doing everything they can to keep people inside their walled garden and this is just another instance of that.
heavyset_go 7y ago
There is absolutely no reason that PWAs can't be sandboxed like native apps, or even more aggressively. In fact, native apps are more likely to be spyware, as they can collect much more information from the user than a browser-based app can.
- saagarjha 7y ago
  Native apps ostensibly go through review so that Apple can flag malfeasant behavior that is nonetheless allowed by the sandbox. Think things like a $999 purchase request that pops up on app launch (Yes, I know Apple isn’t that great at this. But that’s the argument that they use for review.)
  - heavyset_go 7y ago
    It's not a good argument because I can find Bonzai Buddy-like apps on the Mac App Store, and they ban any GPL apps on their iPhone App Store.
    - saagarjha 7y ago
      GPL apps are not banned on the iPhone App Store.
      - heavyset_go 7y ago
        Yes, they are[1]. The GPL is incompatible with the App Store terms and if Apple is aware that an app uses GPL software, they will reject or remove it from the App Store. [1] https://www.zdnet.com/article/no-gpl-apps-for-apples-app-store/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/no-gpl-apps-for-apples-app-sto...
        saagarjha 7y ago
        That link is from 2011, and the referenced verbiage is nowhere to be found in the App Store terms. I believe that the current terms leave the App Store open to GPL software. Also, Apple will only remove software if you notify them of copyright infringement; it's not their job to preemptively perform licensing enforcement.

by vosper 7y ago

jamiesonbecker 7y ago

> to prevent an explosion of garbage and malware that could happen if PWAs really took off? You mean, like the Internet. The App Store is a nice, safe walled garden, like AOL.

edmundsauto 7y ago
This is one of the primary value props of the platform.
- ethbro 7y ago
  Value to whom?
  - leadingthenet 7y ago
    To me, as a user of the device. Native apps can be a joy to use, websites almost never are.
    - hpen 7y ago
      Sure, but this is usually because of UX reasons and less because of performance or capabilities
- Grimm1 7y ago
  And is anti-competitive and gives Apple and Google too much power over a device I own.

franga2000 7y ago

I seriously doubt that. It's a lot more difficult to do horrible things with PWAs than it is with native apps. Apple has a history of doing everything they can to keep people inside their walled garden and this is just another instance of that.

heavyset_go 7y ago

There is absolutely no reason that PWAs can't be sandboxed like native apps, or even more aggressively. In fact, native apps are more likely to be spyware, as they can collect much more information from the user than a browser-based app can.

saagarjha 7y ago
Native apps ostensibly go through review so that Apple can flag malfeasant behavior that is nonetheless allowed by the sandbox. Think things like a $999 purchase request that pops up on app launch (Yes, I know Apple isn’t that great at this. But that’s the argument that they use for review.)
- heavyset_go 7y ago
  It's not a good argument because I can find Bonzai Buddy-like apps on the Mac App Store, and they ban any GPL apps on their iPhone App Store.
  - saagarjha 7y ago
    GPL apps are not banned on the iPhone App Store.
    - heavyset_go 7y ago
      Yes, they are[1]. The GPL is incompatible with the App Store terms and if Apple is aware that an app uses GPL software, they will reject or remove it from the App Store. [1] https://www.zdnet.com/article/no-gpl-apps-for-apples-app-store/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/no-gpl-apps-for-apples-app-sto...
      - saagarjha 7y ago
        That link is from 2011, and the referenced verbiage is nowhere to be found in the App Store terms. I believe that the current terms leave the App Store open to GPL software. Also, Apple will only remove software if you notify them of copyright infringement; it's not their job to preemptively perform licensing enforcement.