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PWAs wont replace native iOS apps

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Re: PWAs wont replace native iOS apps

#71

Post by andix »

mvdtnz wrote: post #13

The solution is simple beyond belief. Stop supporting Apple devices.

Last time I looked into alternatives (it’s been a while) there was no manufacturer that provided updates to latest Android without any delays for longer than 2 years. And manufacturers constantly broke their promise to keep delivering updates as long as possible.

I usually buy 2 year old high end iPhones. So this is very relevant for me. Also from an ecological perspective, smartphones should last at least 5 years.

Re: PWAs wont replace native iOS apps

#72

Post by madeofpalk »

jwells89 wrote: post #66
palata wrote: post #34

In my opinion, it is always the same "cross-platform" discussion. If you hire an iOS/Android mobile dev to write a native iOS/Android app, it means that you hire someone specialized in apps for mobiles . The whole point of a cross-platform framework is the hope that it won't need the specialization: "any web dev can now write a mobile app". But every cross-platform framework has the same problem: platforms are differ…

I believe PWAs have a place in highly “templatable” things like restaurant pages and online shops. Those I can see adding to my home screen. Anything more complex than those is questionable.

Why do you need to 'install' a restaurant app/website?

That's the perfect usecase for like... a website.

Re: PWAs wont replace native iOS apps

#73

Post by msie »

LorenDB wrote: post #33

Maybe we should be pushing for fewer PWAs overall. I personally will not use any web-based app when I can use a native app (with a few exceptions). PWAs just add unnecessary bloat, and the current HTML/CSS/JS stack that the web uses was designed for delivering text documents, not apps, so that inherently limits the experience.

Im always refreshing my pwa because not all resources get loaded or some js fails to run.

Re: PWAs wont replace native iOS apps

#74

Post by layer8 »

andix wrote: post #71
mvdtnz wrote: post #13

The solution is simple beyond belief. Stop supporting Apple devices.

Last time I looked into alternatives (it’s been a while) there was no manufacturer that provided updates to latest Android without any delays for longer than 2 years. And manufacturers constantly broke their promise to keep delivering updates as long as possible. I usually buy 2 year old high end iPhones. So this is very relevant for me. Also from an ecological perspective, smartphones should last at least 5 years.

Smartphones are now required by the EU to provide updates for five years. Samsung even promises seven years now.

Re: PWAs wont replace native iOS apps

#75

Post by jwells89 »

madeofpalk wrote: post #72
jwells89 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe PWAs have a place in highly “templatable” things like restaurant pages and online shops. Those I can see adding to my home screen. Anything more complex than those is questionable.

Why do you need to 'install' a restaurant app/website? That's the perfect usecase for like... a website.

For quick access without cluttering browser tabs and bookmarks.

Re: PWAs wont replace native iOS apps

#76

Post by pomian »

For those of us who want to know, From Wikipedia:

A progressive web application (PWA), or progressive web app, is a type of application software delivered through the web, built using common web technologies including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WebAssembly. It is intended to work on any platform with a standards-compliant browser, including desktop and mobile devices.

Re: PWAs wont replace native iOS apps

#77

Post by addicted »

mrcwinn wrote: post #25

PWAs will never be as good as native, definitionally. There is always API drift. There is always runtime cost. Nothing inside a system can ever have parity with its parent container. If it could, it would be the system itself. People's experience with hardware and physical objects matters. If you accept that, you should always want to be closer to the metal at the cost of convenience or portability.

Strong disagree.

Sure, theoretically, any PWA could possibly be developed as a better native app.

But in the real world people develop apps. If the iOS app developer and designer market declines, then even if theoretically a native app would be better, the best developers and designers will have little to no experience with native and so the best apps will likely be PWAs where the best developers and designers are.

Native only always win if you’re looking at the capability of the platform as the only constraint. In reality, the developer/designer market, money available to develop apps, money and resources available to maintain apps, etc are all additional constraints for real apps, and native apps have significant disadvantages in those other constraints.

Re: PWAs wont replace native iOS apps

#78

Post by PenguinCoder »

burnerthrow008 wrote: post #61
sccxy wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your free app will get popular with new rules then your free app will cost a lot for a developer. For example 2.5M installs/updates a year will cost you Total monthly fees $ 67,935 https://developer.apple.com/support/fee-calculator-for-apps-...

Ok, so charge each user $1? Problem solved.

Abs then your 2.4M install base turns into 50k installs, instead.

Re: PWAs wont replace native iOS apps

#79

Post by addicted »

matwood wrote: post #68
palata wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why you got downvoted for this. Cross-platform is never as good as native, but in some situations it is cheaper. And there is a need for "cheaper but not as good" (we don't all drive a Porsche, do we?).

There are constant complaints about electron apps being bad and people wanting native apps, except in the case of PWAs. I can't keep all the complaining straight lol

Electron apps are getting much better.

VS Code is considered the best app in its class by a distant margin and it’s an electron app.

The first round of Electron apps were created by people who were simply trying to get some cross platform native version of their apps out.

It’s only been recently that companies are now creating electron apps as first class products and now those apps are doing very well.

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