Comment by xnyan

4 hours ago

> I think they're very overused

I disagree, native apps on iOS have important abilities that no web application can match. The inability to control cache long-term is alone a dealbreaker if trying to create an experience with minimal friction.

5 comments

xnyan

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mircerlancerous  3 hours ago

Service workers allow you to control cache in web apps; you may be a bit out of date.

There are hardware APIs for some stuff that only works in native (cors, raw tcp), but 99% of apps don't need those.

pphysch  3 hours ago

Those same elevated controls are used to steal PII and sell to data brokers. Again, it's the companies that are trying to force apps on their users. If it were genuinely a much better UX, they wouldn't have to do that.

  • xnyan  3 hours ago

    I don’t think you are correct, but I could be wrong. For example, can you replicate the functionality of TikTok - autoplay unmuted videos as the user scroll down to new videos? It’s the experience that the user expects.

    • peaseagee  1 hour ago

      I use FB via my web browser (Firefox on Android) and when I look at Shorts, it has this exact functionality. Web browsers on mobile can do this, clearly.