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Do not download the app, use the website

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Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#421

Post by wqaatwt »

galangalalgol wrote: post #278
Gigachad wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does an app for Reddit make sense? It’s an image and text platform. There’s no weird hardware apis required. Native apps make sense when you need to tap in to platform specific features like the Lidar api and such. They don’t make any sense for most websites.

There isn't even a need for JavaScript for reddit though it does seem to require it. I posted this without JavaScript enabled so it obviously would be fine for reddit too. Using an app for reddit doesn't make any sense to me at all. Banking apps make sense, they are doing some crazy device finger-printing to avoid id theft. But when the goal is to convey information use html and css. If you are taking payments then y…

> a game, try wasm

On iOS? Waste of time for anything but simple 2d games.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#422

Post by proverbialbunny »

card_zero wrote: post #245
spauldo wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reddit is one of the cases where a native app makes sense. Some of the 3rd party Reddit apps were great. But I'll eat my hat before I'll install Reddit's own app. Reddit killing off 3rd party apps is why I post here and not there.

I too switched from Reddit to HN during the API protests of '23. But I always browsed through old.reddit anyway, I never used the third party apps. I'm aware of names like RIF and that everyone said they were great, but what was great about them?

Caching and loading times mostly.

I'm on old.reddit.com too and I use the mobile app (including the 3rd party ones back when they existed) for one primary reason: Two windows I can quickly switch back and forth on. On my phone I use Reddit to look up things. I can have a Reddit thread on one window and a Google search on the other and go back and forth. In a browser switching tabs back and forth is painful, often reloading pages, losing the spot in the browser, having this url bar and top bar taking up tons of screen space.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#423

Post by wiseowise »

markbao wrote: post #7

Don’t agree, but to each their own. The native app experience for every app noted in the article is better and smoother than the mobile web version, in my opinion. Lots of people hate Electron apps, which suggests to me that my preference for native apps isn’t unique. Web apps can ask for your location or microphone the same way native apps can. Just reject it, there’s nothing that says you have to accept on either p…

[dead]

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#424

Post by echo42null »

Honestly, this isn’t new at all. Most apps are pretty frustrating to use compared to just visiting the website. Even basic stuff like checking train or bus schedules or planning a route on Google Maps. It’s often worse in the app. With a browser, you can just open multiple tabs, switch between them freely, compare things side-by-side. Most apps don’t support this kind of multitasking at all.

What’s even more annoying lately is the whole “scan this QR code” or “click this button to open in-app browser” flow. You try to log in, get sent an email, and when you click the link, the session’s already gone in the in-app browser. It’s a mess.

So yeah… just use the web version. It’s simpler, more flexible, and honestly more reliable in most cases.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#425

Post by troupo »

kelthuzad wrote: post #411
tempestn wrote: post #384

At AutoTempest we resisted making an app for years, because anything that a hypothetical app could do, we could do with the website. And in my opinion, when searching for cars, it's more convenient to be in your browser where you can easily open new tabs, bookmark results, etc. And for years, it was our most requested feature, by far. We had instructions for how to pin the site to your home screen, and would explain…

>We had instructions for how to pin the site to your home screen, and would explain to users how the website does everything an app can do. Still, constant requests for an app. This is the result of the inconsistent user experience to which gatekeepers like Apple have been actively contributing through active sabotage of web apps, such that all profitable apps can be more effectively and reliably taxed through Apple'…

> This is the result of the inconsistent user experience to which gatekeepers like Apple have been actively contributing through active sabotage of web apps, such that all profitable apps can be more effectively and reliably taxed through Apple's App Store.

If web apps were any good, we'd see a plethora of them on Android. There are none (or very, very, very few).

If web apps were any good, nothing Apple "gatekeeps" would prevent you from building an amazing web app for iOS. The things Apple "gatekeeps" (such as mobile push) would not prevent you from making a smooth fast web app.

And yet here we are.

> if regulators do a proper job and allow web apps to compete on a level playing field

They already are competing on a level playing field. It's not "lack of NFC" or "lack of Bluetooth" or "lack of " that prevent you from having good web apps.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#426

Post by oc1 »

o_m wrote: post #418
tempestn wrote: post #384

At AutoTempest we resisted making an app for years, because anything that a hypothetical app could do, we could do with the website. And in my opinion, when searching for cars, it's more convenient to be in your browser where you can easily open new tabs, bookmark results, etc. And for years, it was our most requested feature, by far. We had instructions for how to pin the site to your home screen, and would explain…

At the last company I worked for we wanted to shut down our app to save expenses. The idea being that most people would just the website if we removed the app. It seems like you didn't gain anything by making an app, you just created more expenses and complexity.

but did the idea pan out? did the users switch to the website or did you lose em?

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#427

Post by wqaatwt »

scarface_74 wrote: post #415
msephton wrote: post #410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My bank Monzo only has a minimal website. The app is everything.

This must be a thing outside the US as far as not being able to do everything on the banking website even on mobile. The exception is depositing a check.

Monzo et al. aren’t “real” (i.e. traditional banks) they are purely online and entirely built around mobile apps. So there was probably no real demand for actual websites since all the banks clients signed up through the app to begin with.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#428

Post by wiseowise »

amarshall wrote: post #79
markbao wrote: post #7

Don’t agree, but to each their own. The native app experience for every app noted in the article is better and smoother than the mobile web version, in my opinion. Lots of people hate Electron apps, which suggests to me that my preference for native apps isn’t unique. Web apps can ask for your location or microphone the same way native apps can. Just reject it, there’s nothing that says you have to accept on either p…

Many of the “native” apps on mobile app stores are React Native, though.

React Native uses native ui.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#429

Post by troupo »

zxexz wrote: post #377
DrewADesign wrote: post #354

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Figma runs perfectly well in a web browser, Reddit can do the same. It was built for and evolved almost entirely within the browser, like many other Internet forums. Pure data grab.

Reddit runs well IMO if you go to old.reddit.com. The mobile site is borderline useless, presumably intentionally.

According to Reddit's "Staff Platform Engineer (Web Platform Team)":

--- start quote ---

Old Reddit has the advantage of being pretty much static non-interactive content. No video, tiny thumbnails, and barely any JS or styling. Some people like this and some don't, but the end result is a very lean website that performs well out of the box.

https://x.com/jimsimon_/status/1841087335414280571

Suffice to say, I'm on the frontend perf team and we're acutely aware of these problems

https://x.com/jimsimon_/status/1841092341991403974

--- end quote ---

This was in October 2024.

Which is of course a bunch of bullshit when you consider that Reddit's backend returns most data in under 400ms, and it takes Reddit frontend 3+ seconds to render it

It could be that they are just incompetent.

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