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I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

jerseyfonseca.com

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Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#221

Post by MereInterest »

f6v wrote: post #184
croh wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Let’s be honest, the majority of the apps charge in-app for every fart. Apple/Google take 30 % of that fart, so you guess what they get at end. > At the dawn of the app stores you could find a ton of free apps and games from hobbyists, it’s all about squeezing money. Well apple charge you $100 per year to upload app, are you kidding ? Plus they don't let you have another store. Everything should must go thr' their…

> Well apple charge you $100 per year to upload app, are you kidding ? IIRC Apple charged you 100$ as early as in 2013, that's when I bought a subscription myself for the first time. But the app landscape was much different back then and it didn't stop hobby developers from publishing.

Sure, it did. When I first got an ipod touch over a decade ago, I was excited to have something customizable. After all, all the marketing was focused on how wide a selection of apps existed, and the general vibe was that it was a good platform to develop for. I'd have loved to have made small utility apps for myself.

But, part of writing things for myself is wanting to share them with friends should they ask. And that requires either a $100 fee, or walking each friend through the process of requesting a developer license in order to run an unpublished app. The fee is a pittance for anybody doing large development, but was far more than college-me wanted to spend on an entrance fee to a language.

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#222

Post by MereInterest »

anoncake wrote: post #205
asiachick wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think comparing Google (Play Store) and Apple (App store) really compare here. Google does let you just publish your app, Apple doesn't 1. The author could have offered an .apk outside the play store. Yes, friends would have had to enable side loading so that sucks but once enabled it's trivial to install .apks. This is no different than MacOS or Windows at some level. No similar option exist on iOS 2. The au…

Only the Play Store can update apps in the background without requiring user confirmation every time. Other stores are no real alternatives, Google remains a monopoly.

Exactly. It is bundled even tighter than Internet Explorer was with Windows. At least there you could install another browser and have full functionality. With the Play Store, no other marketplace is allowed to replicate the full functionality it has.

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#223

Post by dotancohen »

watwut wrote: post #181
flohofwoe wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you care about applications that you wouldn't use or even know that they exist though? Do you also care about web pages you don't know about? The store just wouldn't put such "non-conforming" apps at the top of search results.

It is annoying when you are looking for an app and have to go through 1000 of similar sounding apps. Then you filter it to 300 that seem like someone put effort into and the can find the one that is actually working only after trying 20.

I'd like to filter out the ones that demand access to my contacts list or network access. Why can't we filter on permissions yet?

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#225

Post by ConfusedDog »

askafriend wrote: post #19
dvt wrote: post #11

> Eat my butt, Apple. Eat my butt, Google. Just let me publish my frickin app, you already emptied my pockets. I feel this. A few years ago, I made a joke app[1] which got a bit famous on campus back when I was in school, and the process of getting it on the Play store was literally harder than writing the darn thing. Nowadays, it even got removed from the Play store for some reason. I couldn't imagine running an app…

As a user, I'm very happy the stores impose stringent rules. "And there are all these stupid requirements. I need at least X screenshots, and they have to be this exact resolution blah blah blah. On top of that, it took so long to get approved. My ADHD brain really suffered waiting for the gratification." I would hate to browse a store where the products didn't have at least X screenshots with at least X resolution,…

I keep hearing how App store is stringent on rules. There are plenty of terrible apps either don't do they advertise or totally trying to scam users. I have reported to Apple before, and they just say you can uninstall them and get a refund but they won't do anything about them.

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#226

Post by bluecalm »

askafriend wrote: post #19
dvt wrote: post #11

> Eat my butt, Apple. Eat my butt, Google. Just let me publish my frickin app, you already emptied my pockets. I feel this. A few years ago, I made a joke app[1] which got a bit famous on campus back when I was in school, and the process of getting it on the Play store was literally harder than writing the darn thing. Nowadays, it even got removed from the Play store for some reason. I couldn't imagine running an app…

As a user, I'm very happy the stores impose stringent rules. "And there are all these stupid requirements. I need at least X screenshots, and they have to be this exact resolution blah blah blah. On top of that, it took so long to get approved. My ADHD brain really suffered waiting for the gratification." I would hate to browse a store where the products didn't have at least X screenshots with at least X resolution,…

Great, I am with you. The app store should have strict standards so you know what you're getting if you purchase from there. Fantastic service for people who want that.

Now, please just let me publish an app not using the store. Me and other people like me prefer lower burden and lower quality. We won't mess up your perfect store, you don't even need to know we exist. Just let us enjoy our little world.

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#227

Post by vbezhenar »

asiachick wrote: post #149
dvt wrote: post #11

> Eat my butt, Apple. Eat my butt, Google. Just let me publish my frickin app, you already emptied my pockets. I feel this. A few years ago, I made a joke app[1] which got a bit famous on campus back when I was in school, and the process of getting it on the Play store was literally harder than writing the darn thing. Nowadays, it even got removed from the Play store for some reason. I couldn't imagine running an app…

I don't think comparing Google (Play Store) and Apple (App store) really compare here. Google does let you just publish your app, Apple doesn't 1. The author could have offered an .apk outside the play store. Yes, friends would have had to enable side loading so that sucks but once enabled it's trivial to install .apks. This is no different than MacOS or Windows at some level. No similar option exist on iOS 2. The au…

> The author could have used Progressive Web Apps and just skipped the store entirely on Android and send friends a link. Again, no similar option really exists on iOS.

I don't understand this. iOS has a browser, you can use web apps.

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#228

Post by vbezhenar »

tsimionescu wrote: post #165
f6v wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m still confused why people think that publishing apps to the App Store is a right and not a privilege.

Because the App Store is a requirement to get software to run on their family's bought and owned hardware, in this case?

You can pay for developer account and connect your devices. Then you can easily install your builds. It's $100/year, but Apple hardware is not cheap anyway, consider it like iOS "pro".

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#229

Post by spockz »

Version467 wrote: post #201
sanedigital wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not sure where you’re getting that from. On iOS you can add any webpage as a dedicated tile.

Yes, but pwa's open in a standalone browser, and everything else just opens a new tab. Ich

Is there a way to force this standalone browser behaviour for non PWA?

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#230

Post by halfmatthalfcat »

kelnos wrote: post #152

Given the annoyance the author expresses at the difficultly in getting the app into the Google and Apple app stores, I'm surprised they didn't just make a webapp instead. Since they were already using React, that would seem pretty natural. This app doesn't use any mobile-specific features, so it seems like doing a webapp would fit well.

It's mostly psychology. People have been wired to equate apps = app store. Trying to educate users to simply click "Install this to homescreen", while seemingly simple, seems like a huge gulf for most people. I'd imagine that app installs for app-store variants to PWAs is 100:1.
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