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by DCH3416 607 days ago
Who would've thought steve jobs was right (although premature) with the initial iPhones only having web apps.

That's interesting though, I would've expected iOS to be slower with android largely leveraging chrome because Google.
2 comments
pbreit 607 days ago
Premature by 17+ years? He was and remains completely wrong.
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candiddevmike 607 days ago
With all of the APIs _modern_ browsers are exposing these days, web apps are extremely capable and remain the best multi-platform solution.
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DCH3416 607 days ago
No? Most modern apps these days _are_ just web apps. Why does it need the overhead architecture of running full standalone applications when a web clip works just as well? Plus there's no need for updating.

The problem at the time was multifaceted. The devices couldn't handle it, the network couldn't handle it, and webkit was still relatively limited. But it did work. https://9to5mac.com/2021/06/03/remembering-apples-sweet-solu...

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Miraste 607 days ago
I have never, ever used a web app that runs as well as the native app.
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anon7000 607 days ago
Oh, well I can provide an example. Music League’s PWA on iOS is quite a bit better than the app — partly because you can avoid the ads!

Performance isn’t incredible, but neither is the “native” app (95% sure it’s react native or similar), which frequently dips below 60fps.

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jonas21 607 days ago
If that's the case, then why does nearly every company have a native app in addition to their website? Surely, they could save a lot of time and money by just not building and maintaining the app.
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DCH3416 607 days ago
Because it's a pain in the ass to distribute. And there's not much for support integrated into mobile operating systems for seamless browser windows.

MacOS is getting there kind of lately with safari being able to turn web pages into apps. But there isn't really built in mechanisms for that: https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/14/how-web-apps-work-macos...

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ChocolateGod 607 days ago
Web apps will always on paper be slower (not including badly made applications on both) than native apps, and also bring in additional security issues (since code is loaded remotely) than native applications.
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johnny22 607 days ago
apps built using the webview don't necessarily have to be loaded remotely. If you're building with capacitor, then nothing happens remotely until you choose.

The part about being slower is still true though.

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anon7000 607 days ago
The funny part is that it’s actually not a pain in the ass to distribute. On iOS, saving the current link to the homescreeen installs the PWA (if available). You don’t have to do anything other than tap a button in the share menu. iOS treats it like an app, showing it in the app switcher and search, etc.

People just don’t know it’s an option. And as you say, there are fewer native APIs available to it.

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slothtrop 607 days ago
Native apps make more money, because of phone data. A lot of effort is now put into facilitating cross-platform builds, a wrapper/container around a glorified web app is among the easiest ways
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chasd00 607 days ago
There's no adblock for native apps. Also, they can keep running/monitoring-you in the background easier.
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skydhash 607 days ago
Most modern apps are just services. If you don’t mind you computer being a thin client to someone’s computer on the internet, go ahead. But the rest of us do use native software because the web is just a pale imitation.
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martinsnow 607 days ago
Reddit is a better place for non technical discussions.
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