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PWA is the label for “do things like an app in the browser”. Things like easy install on the homescreen, storing a lot of data locally, notifications, nfc, blue

by Joeri 5y ago

PWA is the label for “do things like an app in the browser”. Things like easy install on the homescreen, storing a lot of data locally, notifications, nfc, bluetooth, location and camera (in a user-friendly way), … This is something people definitely want to do, but can’t, and that’s why PWA remains stuck for a niche audience. The main problem is mobile safari. It is such a limited environment that basically apps are impossible to do for real world use cases in the browser. So, by necessity, even though I was hired to work on the web platform for my organization, I’m now working on a native app. Apple has handicapped the mobile browser to the point where you have to go native. It is even worse than the IE days, because back then you could make a single web app that supported all browsers. You could have a web-only strategy. This is no longer possible for most organizations.

dmitriid 5y ago
> Things like easy install on the homescreen, storing a lot of data locally, notifications, nfc, bluetooth, location and camera > The main problem is mobile safari. Ah yes. "The problem". And not the fact that a lot of what you want is badly specified, poorly implemented and considered harmful by both Safari and Firefox: https://webapicontroversy.com/ https://webapicontroversy.com/
enos_feedler 5y ago
its still just an assumption that pwa success is blocked behind some chicken and egg problem. i dont think you can say it is “definitely” something people (lots of them) want. as of right now it looks like the people who want it most are giant platforms like Google, Amazon and Facebook who want to build game platforms that circumvent in app purchases. thats a valid reason and if its meant to broaden it will. these companies are worth trillions after all
leodriesch 5y ago
I do think that for us developers PWAs are great. But for users, not so much IMO. Native apps (even the ones made with React Native or similar tech) are 99% of the time of higher quality than a web app. That comes down to having more possibilities (even with every PWA feature implemented, there would still be so many missing), greater performance and battery efficiency. As a developer I would love to see PWAs get more capabilities, but as a user I don't want my native apps to get replaced with PWAs to save on some money.
- kitsunesoba 5y ago
  My thoughts are similar. It’s possible to make high quality, kinda-native-feeling PWAs, but that definitely doesn’t come for “free”. In fact it takes a level of attention to detail and craftsmanship that frankly few developers seem willing or capable of, whether that’s due to indifference on behalf of the developer or management riding their ass pushing them to ship sooner. So the most likely outcome is that the average PWA would be less pleasant to use than the average app, which is a pretty clear cut loss for users.
- fulafel 5y ago
  A lot of users won't install a native app but will use your web app. From a user POV: Installing a native app is a decision. The native app capabilities let it do shady stuff with ads and exfiltrating your PII, might eat your battery, spam you with with notifications, and in case you forget to uninstall an annoying app it's a fail-open situation where it can keep on doing all this stuff in the background unless some day you remember to uninstall it. Browser ad blockers don't work on them. The app only works on your phone and with someprobability a web version doesn't exist, so it's a piece of tech that is inaccessible using a real computer, with a real screen and keyboard etc.

by Joeri 5y ago

dmitriid 5y ago

> Things like easy install on the homescreen, storing a lot of data locally, notifications, nfc, bluetooth, location and camera > The main problem is mobile safari. Ah yes. "The problem". And not the fact that a lot of what you want is badly specified, poorly implemented and considered harmful by both Safari and Firefox: https://webapicontroversy.com/ https://webapicontroversy.com/

enos_feedler 5y ago

its still just an assumption that pwa success is blocked behind some chicken and egg problem. i dont think you can say it is “definitely” something people (lots of them) want. as of right now it looks like the people who want it most are giant platforms like Google, Amazon and Facebook who want to build game platforms that circumvent in app purchases. thats a valid reason and if its meant to broaden it will. these companies are worth trillions after all

leodriesch 5y ago

I do think that for us developers PWAs are great. But for users, not so much IMO. Native apps (even the ones made with React Native or similar tech) are 99% of the time of higher quality than a web app. That comes down to having more possibilities (even with every PWA feature implemented, there would still be so many missing), greater performance and battery efficiency. As a developer I would love to see PWAs get more capabilities, but as a user I don't want my native apps to get replaced with PWAs to save on some money.

kitsunesoba 5y ago
My thoughts are similar. It’s possible to make high quality, kinda-native-feeling PWAs, but that definitely doesn’t come for “free”. In fact it takes a level of attention to detail and craftsmanship that frankly few developers seem willing or capable of, whether that’s due to indifference on behalf of the developer or management riding their ass pushing them to ship sooner. So the most likely outcome is that the average PWA would be less pleasant to use than the average app, which is a pretty clear cut loss for users.
fulafel 5y ago
A lot of users won't install a native app but will use your web app. From a user POV: Installing a native app is a decision. The native app capabilities let it do shady stuff with ads and exfiltrating your PII, might eat your battery, spam you with with notifications, and in case you forget to uninstall an annoying app it's a fail-open situation where it can keep on doing all this stuff in the background unless some day you remember to uninstall it. Browser ad blockers don't work on them. The app only works on your phone and with someprobability a web version doesn't exist, so it's a piece of tech that is inaccessible using a real computer, with a real screen and keyboard etc.