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Apple declined to implement 16 Web APIs in Safari due to privacy concerns

(www.zdnet.com)
428 points coronadisaster | 1 comments | 29 Jun 20 10:16 UTC | HN request time: 0.208s | source
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msoad ◴[29 Jun 20 17:15 UTC] No.23679601[source]▶
Google's developer relations team have done a good job convincing web devs that those APIs are pushed by Google to enable "Amazing PWAs", yet we haven't seen them used by any major app. People are choosing to download native apps for more sophisticated applications.

However Google is pushing those APIs because they know tracking people without cookies in future is a big challenge for them and they need new ways of tracking people.

So sad that Google has taken over the web. From the most used browser (Chrome) to the content hijacking (AMP) to the standards (PWA). All to sell you to advertisers.

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Abishek_Muthian ◴[29 Jun 20 17:54 UTC] No.23680171[source]▶
If PWAs die, we will be struck with this duopoly in smartphone OS for foreseeable future as native apps are the ones which help them retain their position.

If we want upcoming pure Linux smartphone OS, Sailfish or any other platform which protect the mobile computing from becoming proprietary; we need web apps & PWAs to grow and capture significant market.

Apple's treatment towards PWAs has been well known as PWAs are the only threat for its Appstore monopoly in iOS.

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spideymans ◴[29 Jun 20 18:30 UTC] No.23680700[source]▶
From a developer's point of view, I can see the value in PWAs (for them), but as an end user, I really don't see the benefit of PWAs over native apps. The UX is almost always severely degraded when compared to their native counterparts (even if the feature set is ostensibly identical). Why would I use a Twitter PWA, when the native app provides a much better UX?
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1. ogre_codes ◴[29 Jun 20 19:27 UTC] No.23681495[source]▶
> From a developer's point of view, I can see the value in PWAs (for them), but as an end user, I really don't see the benefit of PWAs over native apps.

I suspect the bigger demand for PWAs is for non-consumer apps. If you are selling to businesses or building internal apps for a business, often delivering a multi-platform + web app with decent performance/ UX, often a PWA or PWA + Web platform is the way to go.

> Why would I use a Twitter PWA, when the native app provides a much better UX?

This is why I think vertical/ internal apps make a lot more sense for PWAs. If consumers have a choice on what they use, they are going to opt for the faster/ better integrated app and PWAs can't compete. For a purchasing manager, the difference between a cross platform PWA and delivering 2 native mobile apps plus a web app can easily be tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in development costs.

(FWIW, I work on a large SAAS web app/ PWA which obviously colors my perceptions)