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> if your app's entire functionality could be done in a regular website or PWA, then you can't put a native app on our stores A very silly threshold, since thi

by nomel 1y ago

> if your app's entire functionality could be done in a regular website or PWA, then you can't put a native app on our stores A very silly threshold, since this would knock out probably 95% of the app store, including games, since "websites" are extremely capable these days, with full 3d graphics, etc. Then, each time safari added a new modern browser feature, more would get knocked out.

josephcsible 1y ago
Why is that a bad thing? Wouldn't we be better off with all of them being PWA's?
- Zak 1y ago
  It's not a bad thing for users. It would reduce the ability of Apple and Google to extract revenue from their stores though, so they're motivated to do the opposite.
  - cosmic_cheese 1y ago
    For more complex apps, efficiency could be a considerable issue. As capable as the web has become, it’s not very battery friendly for more advanced use cases.
    - Zak 1y ago
      Sure, native apps can be good for users in some cases, but this post isn't about those.
  - scarface_74 1y ago
    How many apps that could be websites have in app purchases of digital goods?
- karanbhangui 1y ago
  Gotta love the HN bubble. Users want apps, not PWAs.
  - frollogaston 1y ago
    If Apple wanted to make PWAs look like apps, users wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Except that's not what Apple wants at all.
    - dpkirchner 1y ago
      If apps were interchangeable with PWAs we'd just call PWAs apps. What would be the difference, besides distribution?
      - frollogaston 1y ago
        That would be good too, "progressive web app" is a silly name
    - cosmic_cheese 1y ago
      I don’t think that’d be possible without a considerably different web engine than currently exists. Even on desktop with Chrome which is the best case scenario currently, web apps are visibly different from their native counterparts due to differences in things like click handling, latency, etc.
      - frollogaston 1y ago
        Most apps nowadays are already websites inside a thin wrapper, and that part is just so it can go on the App Store and have certain OS integrations, not for the UI. Like yeah React Native implements a button with UIButton, but Safari also implements a button with native code. Good example is Discord. Complex app, only really difference for native is something about push-to-talk.
        cosmic_cheese 1y ago
Tadpole9181 1y ago
I think that's a little overstated. Part of a game's functionality is performance and native controls. A website can technically do those things, but the JS and WGL requirements will significantly hamper performance, and getting a browser to hand over native, first-class control of the device to the website is largely impossible and usually ends up an awkward mess. And that little asterisk would end up getting abused by pretty much everyone. After all, we wouldn't be able to add the same functionality to the website because the developers we employ for this are only proficient in `<native language here>`. By-intent, it would definitely be a big chunk of the apps out there, but I would argue that's a good thing. I don't want an App for every brand I interact with, especially since I know what they're doing (harvesting my data to sell to brokers to make a fraction of a penny more per transaction).

by nomel 1y ago

josephcsible 1y ago

Why is that a bad thing? Wouldn't we be better off with all of them being PWA's?

Zak 1y ago
It's not a bad thing for users. It would reduce the ability of Apple and Google to extract revenue from their stores though, so they're motivated to do the opposite.
- cosmic_cheese 1y ago
  For more complex apps, efficiency could be a considerable issue. As capable as the web has become, it’s not very battery friendly for more advanced use cases.
  - Zak 1y ago
    Sure, native apps can be good for users in some cases, but this post isn't about those.
- scarface_74 1y ago
  How many apps that could be websites have in app purchases of digital goods?
karanbhangui 1y ago
Gotta love the HN bubble. Users want apps, not PWAs.
- frollogaston 1y ago
  If Apple wanted to make PWAs look like apps, users wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Except that's not what Apple wants at all.
  - dpkirchner 1y ago
    If apps were interchangeable with PWAs we'd just call PWAs apps. What would be the difference, besides distribution?
    - frollogaston 1y ago
      That would be good too, "progressive web app" is a silly name
  - cosmic_cheese 1y ago
    I don’t think that’d be possible without a considerably different web engine than currently exists. Even on desktop with Chrome which is the best case scenario currently, web apps are visibly different from their native counterparts due to differences in things like click handling, latency, etc.
    - frollogaston 1y ago
      Most apps nowadays are already websites inside a thin wrapper, and that part is just so it can go on the App Store and have certain OS integrations, not for the UI. Like yeah React Native implements a button with UIButton, but Safari also implements a button with native code. Good example is Discord. Complex app, only really difference for native is something about push-to-talk.
      - cosmic_cheese 1y ago

Tadpole9181 1y ago

I think that's a little overstated. Part of a game's functionality is performance and native controls. A website can technically do those things, but the JS and WGL requirements will significantly hamper performance, and getting a browser to hand over native, first-class control of the device to the website is largely impossible and usually ends up an awkward mess. And that little asterisk would end up getting abused by pretty much everyone. After all, we wouldn't be able to add the same functionality to the website because the developers we employ for this are only proficient in `<native language here>`. By-intent, it would definitely be a big chunk of the apps out there, but I would argue that's a good thing. I don't want an App for every brand I interact with, especially since I know what they're doing (harvesting my data to sell to brokers to make a fraction of a penny more per transaction).