[menckenjr]

Great. Now we can have app lookalikes built with someone's pet JS framework contaminating our iPhones.

[reichardt]

"contaminating"? PWAs are contained a whole lot stricter than native apps. Specifically on Android I would worry a lot less about adding a PWA to the home screen than installing a native app.

Do you speak out against implementing apps in JavaScript or is your criticism pointed at PWAs specifically?

[mosselman]

In my experience, the Android and iOS app stores differ a lot in general quality, with the iOS apps being the better ones. Partially, I theorise, is due to it being harder to publish on the App Store than on the Google Play Store. This means that lesser developers and companies will publish more poorly made apps for Android than they will for iOS.

Now, with PWAs, it will become a lot easier to 'publish' 'apps' for iOS, which means that even crappier icons will find their way to your homescreen than would have if all of Android's apps were available for iOS.

That is how I understand 'contaminating' at least.

Some background: I used to have an Android phone and for the last 4-5 years I've had an iPhone. Sadly I still need to help lots of family and friends with Android phones when they are having problems, so I am still familiar with the apps for Android.

[coldtea]

>"contaminating"? PWAs are contained a whole lot stricter than native apps.

Contaminating as in "with their mere presence", doesn't have to be an exploit...

[tyingq]

I agree that webapps aren't currently on par with native apps. However, it seems somewhat inevitable that things will go that way. We're just stuck in the ugly transition period.

Sadly, the turning point will probably be when browsers and/or WASM add enough DRM type functionality.

[coldtea]

>I agree that webapps aren't currently on par with native apps. However, it seems somewhat inevitable that things will go that way.

Why? There doesn't seem to be anything inevitable to me. A chat web app today still uses more resources and has less features than 1997-era ICQ.

[tyingq]

Because writing applications for 3 or 4 distinct targets is a waste of time and money.

If wasm/web were good enough, one app would run on Android, iOS, desktop, etc.

[coldtea]

That's a lowest common denominator app.

If that's the case, we don't need to have multiple mobile OS platforms either...

[tyingq]

I already agreed it wasn't ideal now. I'm suggesting it will improve, enough, in the future. And yes, that would diminish the value proposition of the phone OS.

Edit: That's roughly why Chromebooks are doing well. The OS is less important on laptops already, for many.

[coldtea]

>That's roughly why Chromebooks are doing well. The OS is less important on laptops already, for many

Are they doing well? Read some stats to that, but have never seen one in the wild (except in airports, where they rented them to waiting passengers).