I think it probably could be done these days with Progressive Web Apps and Web ASM, but the fact no one is doing this makes me suspect something is wrong. Perhaps just the UX of adding a PWA to the home screen via safari is so hard that regular users don't do it.
There is nothing wrong with it, it's just people not trusting anything that they're not familiar with (whether they're right or wrong). Game streaming services are using PWAs by consumers just fine.
The trust problem is a general one, it even involves trusting yet another app (not just the installation method). This can be solved by providing a good value and good references / marketing.
For developers it is most likely a FOMO by thinking about anything other than App Store as "a lesser". But just being in the App Store doesn't achieve much as you're one among the millions, you have to market your app yourself anyway.
Some users have this weird association where web apps are considered as not secure while native apps are safe while in reality it's the exact opposite, web apps are nicely sandboxed and native apps siphoons out private information in bulk.
I don't think there is a genuine barrier if you have a really good app that adds enough value to the user. For example GeForce NOW (and other game streaming services) with millions of users use PWAs on iOS/iPad with success.
The installation process can be presented as a simple guide to the users (on Android it's even easier as you can just click a button directly). Of course a portion of users won't be able or be unwilling to follow it. On the other hand you'll get a higher quality users who can follow guides and you retain a direct relationship with them.
There are some annoyances, mostly by Apple when they sometimes add or change some feature that interferes with the web apps, but workarounds are quickly to be found. I would say it's not occurring that often, and native apps needs to adapt to Apple changes too.
It's also a good idea to not use the term PWA, but rather terms like "installable web app" / "add to home screen" or something similar. Almost nobody knows the PWA term (including the developers).
PWAs don't have all capabilities that the native apps have, but most apps don't need these. PWAs certainly can work offline, have push notificatins and other stuff. Some demos are here: <a href="https://whatpwacando.today/" rel="nofollow">https://whatpwacando.today/
mvdtnz · · focus · HN ↗
matkoniecz · · focus · HN ↗
Not sure is it doable in browser.
Gigachad · · focus · HN ↗
jezek2 · · focus · HN ↗
The trust problem is a general one, it even involves trusting yet another app (not just the installation method). This can be solved by providing a good value and good references / marketing.
For developers it is most likely a FOMO by thinking about anything other than App Store as "a lesser". But just being in the App Store doesn't achieve much as you're one among the millions, you have to market your app yourself anyway.
Some users have this weird association where web apps are considered as not secure while native apps are safe while in reality it's the exact opposite, web apps are nicely sandboxed and native apps siphoons out private information in bulk.
I don't think there is a genuine barrier if you have a really good app that adds enough value to the user. For example GeForce NOW (and other game streaming services) with millions of users use PWAs on iOS/iPad with success.
The installation process can be presented as a simple guide to the users (on Android it's even easier as you can just click a button directly). Of course a portion of users won't be able or be unwilling to follow it. On the other hand you'll get a higher quality users who can follow guides and you retain a direct relationship with them.
There are some annoyances, mostly by Apple when they sometimes add or change some feature that interferes with the web apps, but workarounds are quickly to be found. I would say it's not occurring that often, and native apps needs to adapt to Apple changes too.
It's also a good idea to not use the term PWA, but rather terms like "installable web app" / "add to home screen" or something similar. Almost nobody knows the PWA term (including the developers).
PWAs don't have all capabilities that the native apps have, but most apps don't need these. PWAs certainly can work offline, have push notificatins and other stuff. Some demos are here: <a href="https://whatpwacando.today/" rel="nofollow">https://whatpwacando.today/
matkoniecz · · focus · HN ↗