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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

#581
post #445

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If web apps were any good, we'd see a plethora of them on Android. There are none (or very, very, very few). This statement alone is evidence that you didn't understand the crux of the issue. You are also confusing cause and effect. I clearly explained the root causes for that. The reason there are not more web apps is not that they aren't "good" - what does that even mean? what is the criterion for "good" here? If…

> This statement alone is evidence that you didn't understand the crux of the issue. I do > You are also confusing cause and effect. I don't > I clearly explained the root causes for that. You didn't. You went on a rant about "public perception" and your own experience building mobile web sites. > If you say that it's because they lack certain features, then you confirmed my point that it's due to active sabotage and…

We have really complex web applications like Photopea.

They work fine performance-wise. The example of Reddit’s website being shit is just pointing out that Reddit’s website is shit.

Google maps web applications also works really well. Both Photopea and Google Maps are far more complex than reddit.

At this point I am sure reddit’s website is shit so people are forced to use their app so they can track users better. Not because of some underlying limitation of web technologies.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#582
post #445

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If web apps were any good, we'd see a plethora of them on Android. There are none (or very, very, very few). This statement alone is evidence that you didn't understand the crux of the issue. You are also confusing cause and effect. I clearly explained the root causes for that. The reason there are not more web apps is not that they aren't "good" - what does that even mean? what is the criterion for "good" here? If…

> This statement alone is evidence that you didn't understand the crux of the issue. I do > You are also confusing cause and effect. I don't > I clearly explained the root causes for that. You didn't. You went on a rant about "public perception" and your own experience building mobile web sites. > If you say that it's because they lack certain features, then you confirmed my point that it's due to active sabotage and…

ht>> I clearly explained the root causes for that.

>You didn't. You went on a rant about "public perception" and your own experience building mobile web sites.

I have no time to engage in your shallow kind of tit for tat, where I do all of the work and you simply respond with infantile one word responses with zero elaboration or outright denial, misrepresentation or just repetition of already debunked narratives. I will still briefly debunk the parts where you put in at least some minor effort of trying to substantiate.

For a more elaborate analysis:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44694037

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44692287

>> Be specific, why are they not "good"? > E.g. Reddit's mobile web site loads every post in 3+ seconds. And reloads the full page when you click on a subtree in the comments. When you scroll through Twitter, it will just randomly load a bunch of stuff and replace your content losing your scroll position. Same with going back from a tweet to the timeline. Most websites take multiple seconds to display text-only information with broken layouts, layout shifts, and multiple loading states.

Those are some specific apps that have bad implementations, not an inherent limitation of the technology, so it's irrelevant to the bigger picture. I asked you for the specific technology. That's like me saying "Give me a specific reason why electric cars will never be a viable technology as you claimed" then you respond with "This specific brand has an electric car with this specific issue". It's such a transparent strategy of deliberately missing the point.

> --- start quote ---

Features HN developers think are missing from the web to deliver an experience ... --- end quote ---

All of those are issues that have already been fixed, so I don't get why you would bring up your severely outdated comment. It also contains aspects for which I clearly explained why and who is to blame for those.

>There is no such entity. Besides, Google invested hundreds of millions of dollars into PWAs, and there are still so few that people can point to even on Android.

I already responded to this in many different comments:

"Google is the primary champion of PWAs, they have a vested interest in its success. The reason I focused on Apple is because its actions are one of a profit-maximizing gatekeeper actively defending its most lucrative business against an existential threat that is PWA. Every bug, every delayed feature, and every artificial limitation imposed on PWAs on iOS is a calculated strategic move in this defense of its walled garden that makes maximum taxation possible."

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#583

"Websites can try to estimate your location, but it's far less precise and requires explicit permission each time." The better solution is do not use a phone. Using a phone requires using a mobile browser. One of the worst "apps" of them all. If it is Firefox, then one needs to block a ton of telemetry. It is constantly trying to determine if it can reach the internet and then trying to access "location.services.mozi…

> Using a phone requires using a mobile browser.

Not true. Sent from desktop Firefox on my GNU/Linux phone.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#584
post #551

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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'…

Isn't the Mac way a good thing though? For example everything on Windows is moving to web apps where I feel they can load just as many trackers onto you eg https://www.theverge.com/news/710509/whatsapp-windows-app-we... Whereas on Mac, Meta are keeping their native app presumably because they can't be in the Mac app store with just a web wrapper But maybe I've just got the exact delusion youre talking about in that I…

> many trackers

A native app has access to OS information for the same kind of fingerprinting as with browsers, except with more bits of information. The reason, for example, iOS has the “ask app not to track” button is because the tracking could still happen, even more comprehensively than in a browser. Not exactly sure about macOS but I don’t see why it would be different.

Meta is keeping their apps as native presumably because native apps make better spyware. I think they literally do not have any other reason; if web apps made better spyware, Meta would push people to use their web apps, simple as. Meta is a spyware company. Technical decisions about deploying/developing their spyware will be informed primarily by their desire to make it more effective as such.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#585
I don’t really think the desire for more data holds up as the primary motivation for companies wanting apps. To be clear I also hate being forced to use apps, but every metric I have seen shows app users are more engaged, make more purchases and have better retention then website users, I don’t remember specifically but it was always significant like 3x, and yes they want push notifications and those direct channels to customer on their devices. Apps are sandboxed and generally pretty privacy focused if you just tap no when they ask you for your first born. Contacts? You need explicit permission. Photos on device? You need explicit permission. Local networking? Explicit permission. Push notifications? Explicit permission. Cross site tracking? Explicit permission (although that is more recent and i am sure bad actors find ways around it).

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#586

I wish Apple and Google would make rules to the effect of "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".

Apple almost sort of do. If you have a website and put an app on the App Store, it must have functionality that beyond what the website already offers.

It's sort of the opposite: Developer have to shrink the websites' functionality to obey this rule.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#587

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which bank is that where you can’t log into their website from PC or mobile?

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

Similar with Cashapp, Venmo, and Apple Wallet / Credit Card.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#588

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple almost sort of do. If you have a website and put an app on the App Store, it must have functionality that beyond what the website already offers.

It's sort of the opposite: Developer have to shrink the websites' functionality to obey this rule.

Usually they don’t, though. They add one iOS feature instead.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#589

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'…

> I thought that the desktop version of a website is the "real website" i.e. that there is only one static original website and that its mobile version was some fake substitute, so I always activated the option "show desktop version".

It wasn't that long ago that when you used the mobile internet, you would be getting a "fake version" of the site that could render speedily, despite the limited speed of 2G networks.

First it was all about WML[0], which would be processed by a proxy that would deliver the file in a binary format that would be smaller.

And even when mobile phones that could access proper HTML content hit the market, it was often still accessed through the use of an accelerator proxy[1] which would optimize the page (stripping unnecessary parts) that you were trying to access so that it could be downloaded faster.

These technologies are still in use in some places, as I understand it. But it's generally not necessary nowadays for locations with access to 3G or better.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_Markup_Language

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_accelerator

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#590

Earlier quoted context omitted.

500MB average seems like a gross exaggeration. I agree apps are oversize but I have maybe 2 native apps on mobile that are so large.

Average, yes, probably an exaggeration. Some apps iOS: wechat: 740meg gmail: 672 google chat: 585 uber: 582 tiktok: 572 headspace: 498 instagram: 467 doulingo: 462 bank of america: 456 capital one: 435 expedia: 412 linkedin: 402 doordash: 392 google: 379 facebook: 365 unitied airlines:355 chase: 352 google photos: 348 line: 346 amex: 339 google maps: 336 youtube: 329 booking.com: 320 citi: 319 amazon music: 317 snapc…

On Android, is the Gmail app actually a PWA? Saying this as Google tried to push PWA hard, but it doesn’t seem like they do it for their own stuff.
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