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I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

debuggerdotbreak.judahgabriel.com

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Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#181

Post by jbigelow76 »

Silhouette wrote: post #97
judah wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Partially agree. I understand security concerns; we shouldn't allow random web apps to freely access privileged operations, for example. (Should we allow web apps to ask for permission? That is another question.) But stopping web apps from working? For example, breaking open standards like "you can't play more than one stream of audio", or "you're not allowed to play audio if your app isn't in the fore"? Nah, that's…

Mobile Safari's support for modern web standards has made IE look good for some time now. It seems very clear that Apple doesn't want a good experience for web users on its devices. It's very frustrating, because we keep getting requests from users for features we're happy to look into or even already working on... but then discover the user has an iPhone, where the necessary web technologies are supported poorly if…

Unfortunately, since Apple also won't let anyone else supply a real browser to run on its devices, there's also no meaningful competition to force them to do better. Maybe monopoly/anti-competition regulations should be adapted so the same principles apply to platforms in this sort of controlling position.

Apple only controls 12% of the smartphone market[1]. This is like asking that Porsche be regulated for not offering a color you want and they have a monopoly on selling Porsches.

[1] https://qz.com/826672/android-goog-just-hit-a-record-88-mark...

Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#182

Post by littlestymaar »

shinratdr wrote: post #39

From a user perspective, this is why I love iOS. * Barrier to entry. If your project is more than a hobby, you can jump through a couple hoops to reach the iOS userbase. If the difference between $99 and $25 is make-or-break, you're probably trying to publish a hobby/low quality app anyways. There is a reason the Microsoft Store and Google Play are absolutely filled with trash, and this is part of it. * Forcing you t…

> Everyone else wants native apps back, even if they don't know it. Case and point: the hatred for all the apps moving to Electron and the ridiculous amount of resources they consume.

The main complain people have with electron, is its heaviness. You ship a whole browser just for your tiny app. If every electron instance was using the same library & the same process (esp. the same JavaScript VM), most of the trouble would go away.

> Most people don't know what Electron is, but they can tell you how much they hate the new Skype.

Most people hate UI changes, and the new skype brings a lot of it! On a technical point of view, the new Skype is quite ok, it's not like the old ones were especially good either …

Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#184

Post by mamcx »

floatboth wrote: post #166
mamcx wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 2) some mobile platforms (read: Apple) You mean Google. Android webviews are VERY slow. Tha comnpound with the overall bad android OS (terrible privacy and security, terrible overal performance).

> Android webviews are VERY slow Huh? Since KitKat I think, WebView is updatable (and is on the App Store), plus browsers like Chrome and Firefox can provide their own WebView implementation. Most people with non-ancient phones are probably using Chrome's engine in all WebViews. And also, old engine doesn't even mean "slow". Only Apple used to an actual problem here, because for a long long time there was no JS JIT i…

That is the theory. Hold a iPhone and and android and run the same web-browser apps and look for yourself.

I have tested several demos by ionic, framework7, etc... is amazing how slow are androids...

Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#185

Post by geekles »

judah wrote: post #2

Author here. Thanks all for bringing this to the HN front page. The jist of the article is getting a PWA into the app stores is harder than it needs to be, especially on iOS. Between Google, Apple, and Microsoft, I found Google's Play Store to be the simplest and quickest store to get a PWA published in. Another interesting bit is that web technologies haven't caught up to native. My PWA isn't super complex -- it's a…

The point of a PWA is that the app store is not needed. Why would you be trying to get a PWA into the app store?

Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#186

Post by Silhouette »

matthewmacleod wrote: post #162
Silhouette wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mobile Safari's support for modern web standards has made IE look good for some time now. It seems very clear that Apple doesn't want a good experience for web users on its devices. It's very frustrating, because we keep getting requests from users for features we're happy to look into or even already working on... but then discover the user has an iPhone, where the necessary web technologies are supported poorly if…

This is absolute nonsense. Most web technologies are supported by Safari.it has lagged behind other browsers for a while - not terribly so, but enough that it can be a little annoying at times. But the comparison with IE (or rather Edge now) is just wrong by an order of magnitude.

This is absolute nonsense.

Really? Let's look at some specifics around PWAs and media content.

Mobile Safari has historically set relatively low and hard limits when storing data for offline use through the various relevant APIs. This is a much more significant limitation in a world of offline-friendly PWAs.

HTML video elements have had so many problems it's hard to keep track, from relying on a broken plugin that didn't do things like sending cookies properly with requests, through to refusing to play videos in-page on iPhones.

Mobile Safari has stuck with only playing H.264 videos even as every other major browser supported open standards.

Obviously IE is no longer developed and doesn't support modern PWA APIs, but even IE had better support and more compatibility with some of the other modern web APIs than Mobile Safari.

Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#187

Post by oalessandr »

shinratdr wrote: post #39

From a user perspective, this is why I love iOS. * Barrier to entry. If your project is more than a hobby, you can jump through a couple hoops to reach the iOS userbase. If the difference between $99 and $25 is make-or-break, you're probably trying to publish a hobby/low quality app anyways. There is a reason the Microsoft Store and Google Play are absolutely filled with trash, and this is part of it. * Forcing you t…

Also from a user's perspective, I'd prefer everything that doesn't need to be a native app to be a pwa. They are much more lightweight and more limited in permissions. Probably those apps don't need to be submitted to the store either, except for discoverability (users are now used to search for apps on the store)

Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#188

Post by geekles »

maccio92 wrote: post #24

> Don’t make me pay you to make my app available to your users. My app enriches your platform. It helps to prevent spammed low quality apps. If there is a monetary barrier to entry, it helps curb that.

No, actually, it doesn't.

What helps to prevent spammed low quality apps is the app review process.

Those who are spamming the app stores with low quality, keyword dense apps are those who are looking to make a quick buck, and they do not hesitate to pay the paltry yearly fee.

Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#190

Post by Silhouette »

jbigelow76 wrote: post #181
Silhouette wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mobile Safari's support for modern web standards has made IE look good for some time now. It seems very clear that Apple doesn't want a good experience for web users on its devices. It's very frustrating, because we keep getting requests from users for features we're happy to look into or even already working on... but then discover the user has an iPhone, where the necessary web technologies are supported poorly if…

Unfortunately, since Apple also won't let anyone else supply a real browser to run on its devices, there's also no meaningful competition to force them to do better. Maybe monopoly/anti-competition regulations should be adapted so the same principles apply to platforms in this sort of controlling position. Apple only controls 12% of the smartphone market[1]. This is like asking that Porsche be regulated for not offer…

It seems more like saying Porsche can't dictate to garages that they can only supply Porsche spare parts and even then only if they become a Porsche dealership, despite someone else's competing part performing better.
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