[dallamaneni]

I have been replacing traditional apps with PWA's or mobile websites wherever possible (on Android). They hardly take up any space and also seem to behave well (drains less battery) compared to traditional apps.

I could replace the following with PWAs:

- Twitter

- Uber

- Lyft

- Google news

- Instagram

- Flipboard

- Shopping sites like Walmart, Wish

and many more.

Facebook and Amazon have no PWA's but have mobile websites. (Facebook mobile web works well with Opera. On other browsers it annoyingly redirects to play store to install messenger)

[013a]

I think that's a fine solution, but its looking at the wrong problem.

Consider an app like Discord [1], which is built using React Native and is thus a "native" app with some additional cruft like a JS runtime. It clocks in at a relatively small 30mb. Not bad.

Then consider Slack [2]. For nearly intents and purposes it does the same exact thing. Discord has far more functionality than Slack. Yet, it is 129mb.

Tweetbot [3]? 12mb. Twitter [4]? 204mb.

The issue has little to do with the technologies used. PWA, React Native, full native, it doesn't matter. The issue is truly that these large companies have horrible, bloated engineering teams and that bloat comes through in the size of the apps produced. It is Conway's Law in action.

[1] https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/discord-chat-for-gamers/id98...

[2] https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/slack-business-communication...

[3] https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tweetbot-4-for-twitter/id101...

[4] https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twitter/id333903271?mt=8

[Theodores]

Well here is an application that defies your approach: the Android clock. 17Mb update to that just now, vanilla android. Plus Google do some diff. style updates so that is probably a lot more and for a clock. Presumably it has 17Mb of updated alarms in surround sound and presumably these are needed however I can't see any other obvious bloat potential as the clock should use Android UX.

How can a clock need the equivalent of a box of floppies? Windows 3 and 3.1 together comes to the same Mb and that comes with a clock.

[AstralStorm]

These clocks did not have high fidelity long ringtones and billion of options. And especially no Google calendar support. ;)

[Twirrim]

PWAs? Public Welfare Assistance schemes?

[spcelzrd]

Progressive Web Applications

It's the new name for a home screen bookmark.

[neogodless]

Progressive Web Apps - basically HTML5 web sites that work well on a phone, and take advantage of some newer browser features to make a web page more "app-like." Not sure if there's a distinction to be made between PWA and Single Page Applications (SPA), but in either case, you can use Service Workers, local storage, offline mode etc as well as "app" features like notifications and a homepage shortcut. The experience ends up being very much like that of an app, without a huge install.

[Apocryphon]

So sounds like the promise of web-based "apps" from pre-app store iOS to WebOS to Firefox OS... finally about to be realized thanks to official Google backing. RIP to all the minor players who came before and failed.

[djKianoosh]

... without a huge install if you watch the weight of the initial page load and optimize for that. ;)

[groby_b]

Pretty^W Progressive Web Apps (https://developers.google.com/web/progressive-web-apps/)

Essentially, apps on the web that feel and behave like a native app.

[jessaustin]

https://developers.google.com/web/progressive-web-apps/

[hutattedonmyarm]

Progressive Web Apps

[rayiner]

But those websites suck down enormous amounts of data each time they load.

[allannienhuis]

Not if they use caching (whether service worker based or not) aggressively.

[s73ver]

If an organization isn't taking the time and effort to make sure their app isn't bloated full of stuff, what makes you think they'll do that?

[allannienhuis]

caching can be done reasonably well for straightforward cases with yet-another-library https://serviceworke.rs/

oh, the irony!

[gtramont]

For the developers out there, here's one option for native applications that leverages the beauty of the web: http://jasonette.com/

[speg]

I've been doing this too; but annoyingly I usually am in Private Browsing mode and when I go to launch one of these apps it doesn't work because I'm no longer logged in.

[Kiro]

What exactly is the difference between a PWA and a mobile website?

[abdulmuhaimin]

I can say that I use it accidentally without realising(at first) it was a PWA website. So, Im just gonna tell it in layman term. From what I can tell, its a website, but definitely felt more like an app rather than a website.

the best way to understand it is just to try it. Its just a website(PWA) pinned to your homescreen, so theres not much cost to try it.

[Kiro]

Sounds very diffuse. I can pin any mobile website to my homescreen but I presume that alone doesn't make it a PWA.

[Tom4hawk]

PWA apps can run from home screen without address bar, with splashscreen and you can use things like ServiceWorkers (some things can run in background, better caching/storage, you can even run your app offline showing information/data/whatever from last time you synced with backend server).

[ocdtrekkie]

Branding, obviously. :)