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by simplotek 1264 days ago
> Native is worthwhile for “appstore only” businesses. Mostly. For everyone else, a universal web app is the recommended path forward.

This take is outright wrong. Non-native/webview-based apps are only a tolerable option if your goal is to maximize the number of platforms you cover with the same code base and skeleton crew dev team, at the expense of forcing users to endure subpar user experiences.
2 comments
wiseowise 1264 days ago
As someone who spends enough time on iOS, I’ll take well written web app in a browser over well written native app any time. Do you really think that your whatever thing is so important as to justify me going to an atrocious AppStore and downloading yet another >100MB app with no way to block ads or tracking?

Unless you really exercise system API, I don’t want to hear about your CRUD needing native app to “provide best native experience”.

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hakfoo 1263 days ago
I'd argue there are a lot of app experiences that are inherently subpar by being apps.

Plenty of services are simply "good enough" as a web page. I don't need a permanent icon on my phone from the local pizzeria for the once every 3 months I order for pickup. How can you make my experience better with an app? Invent different and weird new checkboxes for the order selection process, or just hope they can poll for tracking data that wouldn't exist inside a browser session?

Apps are also a terrible fragmentation for "transient" interactions where you're starting with a search or other activity, and incidentally brush across the content, rather than starting with a full "I'm going to use an app" mindset. Suddenly the UI changes and flow is broken. (see: any time you search for something and click a Reddit result)

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