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App Updates for HTML5 Apps

developer.apple.com

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Re: App Updates for HTML5 Apps

#61

Post by seanalltogether »

js2 wrote: post #48

> Apps that provide core features and functionality dynamically with web technology like HTML5 are best delivered to everyone in Safari, rather than through the curated App Store The various financial/banking/utility apps I use at best provide maybe half their functionality directly. Some really egregious examples of apps that are mostly HTML5 are myAT&T and the Discover card apps. The Discover card app is 100% usele…

I had a lot of financial clients during the early days of ios and android. All the ones that dipped their toes into native apps back then have migrated back to html wrappers. Some I remember had concerns about unencrypted storage of user data, others had concerns about increased platforms for vulnerability testing. I think ultimately these guys try to reduce risk and cost related to tech, even if it would improve their customer experience.

Re: App Updates for HTML5 Apps

#62

Post by benologist »

ksec wrote: post #46
saagarjha wrote: post #16

Note that this probably has less of an impact than you’d think: > Apps may contain or run code that is not embedded in the binary (e.g. HTML5-based games, bots, etc.), as long as code distribution isn’t the main purpose of the app, the code is not offered in a store or store-like interface, and provided that the software (1) is free or purchased using in-app purchase; (2) only uses capabilities available in a standar…

>(4) does not provide access to real money gaming, lotteries, or charitable donations Why is that? I also don't understand how is Kickstarter allowed when not everything they have are physical goods.

They can't just say "kickstarter are bad now" because their reasoning will definitely be audited in court and it won't stand up to scrutiny.

Re: App Updates for HTML5 Apps

#63

Post by _9vpl »

vbezhenar wrote: post #28
writepub wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> as you don’t try to sell things through it Why? Why does Apple insist on playing middleman, if not for totalitarian control over all commerce on the platform? How is this not monopolistic anti-trust behavior?

Apple wants to earn more money by taking a cut from your transactions. Few people are ready to share their profits unless forced to do so. It's not monopolistic behavior, because Apple does not hold a monopoly in any market.

When you look at the smartphone market for apps, I think you could make a pretty good argument that there is monopolistic behavior between the two giants, Apple and Google. Call it a duopoly or what have you. The fact that both stores have very similar policies regarding revenue share (70/30) seems to support this.

Both stores having the same exact revenue share may just be a consequence of there being a duopoly, or it may be more nefarious where active collusion has occurred between the two. Remember when Apple and Google got caught a few years back colluding against labor? https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-google-others-settle-anti-po...

Now, yes, Android does allow you to download apps outside the Play Store, but not by default. Microsoft was able to make a similar argument with Internet Explorer and Windows with it's monopoly cases. If you are one of a few large powerhouses like Fortnight or Tinder, you may be able take advantage of being able to bypass Play Store.

Re: App Updates for HTML5 Apps

#64

Post by slaymaker1907 »

vbezhenar wrote: post #28
writepub wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> as you don’t try to sell things through it Why? Why does Apple insist on playing middleman, if not for totalitarian control over all commerce on the platform? How is this not monopolistic anti-trust behavior?

Apple wants to earn more money by taking a cut from your transactions. Few people are ready to share their profits unless forced to do so. It's not monopolistic behavior, because Apple does not hold a monopoly in any market.

Except the very important market of App distribution on iOS.

Re: App Updates for HTML5 Apps

#65

Post by slaymaker1907 »

baggy_trough wrote: post #10

Are Electron style apps banned because "core features and functionality of the app must be contained within the binary of the software"?

I think those should be ok as long as you are bundling all the assets with your app rather than loading them from a server (which is how Electron generally operates).

Re: App Updates for HTML5 Apps

#66

Post by zapzupnz »

jamiek88 wrote: post #54
writepub wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. Sandboxing doesn't need apple's app store, it's manual policy enforcement and arbitrary anti competitive rejections. Many, many sandboxes have existed with well documented permissioning systems that don't need anointing by manual reviewers. 2. Speaking of flea markets and the false equivalency of the app store to a Walmart, Walmart doesn't require banning flea markets but the app store (Apple) bans sideloading. Wa…

Then use android. Those of us happy with the trade off will remain on Apples platform.

> Then use android.

This. It should be so simple, use the platform that best caters to your requirements. Instead, people are happier to bitch and moan about the tactics of a company we've been able to understand for the past 12 years rather than just use and evangelise the platform that best suits their needs.

Re: App Updates for HTML5 Apps

#67

Post by dragonsh »

Majority of the Chinese app eco-system is based on this HTML5, including WeChat mini-apps and Alibaba's Alipay and Taobao apps.

I hope Apple apply this guideline equally to all developers and do not Grant exceptions to WeChat or others in China being a bigger market.

Since WeChat mini-apps in HTML5 is a very large eco-system in China with its own security risks, let's see how this works in reality.

Re: App Updates for HTML5 Apps

#68

Post by zenexer »

dragonsh wrote: post #67

Majority of the Chinese app eco-system is based on this HTML5, including WeChat mini-apps and Alibaba's Alipay and Taobao apps. I hope Apple apply this guideline equally to all developers and do not Grant exceptions to WeChat or others in China being a bigger market. Since WeChat mini-apps in HTML5 is a very large eco-system in China with its own security risks, let's see how this works in reality.

It has always seemed like Apple has granted exceptions to this policy for any influential entities outside of the IT industry as long as they don’t compete with Apple.

Apps for brick-and-mortar organizations, such as banks and retailers, are a good example. They’re all almost exclusively simple wrappers around a practically unusable website. Many of them work worse in the wrapper than in a browser; for example, bank statement downloads are often broken.

Re: App Updates for HTML5 Apps

#69

Post by scarface74 »

writepub wrote: post #26
brlewis wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is anything stopping people from going all-in HTML5 and not even worry about having a presence in the app store?

Better user experience. Certain things are better, faster, etc. as a native app. Apple's policies are rooted in totalitarianism and greed. As both developers and consumers we shouldn't be enabling them. You really should be asking the reverse, what motivated Apple to block software from running freely on their phones. After all, their marketing campaign for a whole decade was how secure their non-locked-up Mac was co…

Despite the outcry on HN, few users care about Apple’s “walled garden”.

Re: App Updates for HTML5 Apps

#70

Post by api »

scarface74 wrote: post #69
writepub wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Better user experience. Certain things are better, faster, etc. as a native app. Apple's policies are rooted in totalitarianism and greed. As both developers and consumers we shouldn't be enabling them. You really should be asking the reverse, what motivated Apple to block software from running freely on their phones. After all, their marketing campaign for a whole decade was how secure their non-locked-up Mac was co…

Despite the outcry on HN, few users care about Apple’s “walled garden”.

iOS with its total walled garden and curated App Store is great for non-computer-people.

What we're seeing is the bifurcation of computing into devices and software for computer aficionados, programmers, hobbyists, and others who want a "real computer" and devices and software for people who don't know much about computers and don't really care about them beyond using them for communication, entertainment, etc.

I don't see anything inherently wrong with that as long as the stuff you can hack is still around and readily available. As it stands that's definitely true. I can still buy laptops and desktops that I can run anything I want on, and a Raspberry Pi 4 is $40.

Curiously Apple's other machine and OS, the Mac, straddles both worlds. You can use a Mac almost like an iOS device with apps from the App Store, or you can use it almost the way you'd use a Linux desktop.

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