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428 points coronadisaster | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.88s | source
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msoad ◴[] 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 ◴[] 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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EastSmith ◴[] No.23680351[source]
Name three PWA apps please. I know I've built two PWA POC some time ago (using service workers and Notification API), but I've never use any PWA in the wild.
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strbean ◴[] No.23680486[source]
Are you talking specifically about add-to-home-screen / offline capabilities? Because PWA is a very broad term, and most descriptions I've seen consider those features necessary to be a PWA.

Ignoring those two, you get damn near every major web app. All of Google's applications, Facebook, Twitter, etc. etc.

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Abishek_Muthian ◴[] No.23680895[source]
This is a good question.

You can enable add-to-home-screen for websites with a single meta tag,

   <meta name="mobile-web-app-capable" content="yes">
e.g. Here's one of my website with that tag[1], Ironically this feature was introduced by Apple and is considered part of PWA specs.

But for the sake of this discussion, let's consider PWAs to be one which uses app manifest[2] and uses some high level device features.

[1]https://needgap.com

[2]https://web.dev/what-are-pwas/

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1. strbean ◴[] No.23683257[source]
Woops! I left off the word "don't" in regards to those features being necessary to be considered PWAs!