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Everyone knows all the apps on your phone

(peabee.substack.com)
1192 points gniting | 13 comments | 29 Mar 25 21:26 UTC | HN request time: 1.263s | source | bottom
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turblety ◴[30 Mar 25 05:53 UTC] No.43521702[source]▶
I still, will never understand the need for native "Apps". To this day, I have never seen an "App" that couldn't simply have been a website/webapp. Most of them would likely be improved by being a webapp.

The only benefits I can see of "Apps", are the developer get's access to private information they really don't need.

Yeah, they get to be on the "App Store". But the "App Store" is a totally unnecessary concept introduced by Apple/Google so they could scrape a huge percentage in sales.

Web browsers have good (not perfect) sandboxing, costs no fees to "submit" and are accessible to everyone on every phone.

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1. rzz3 ◴[30 Mar 25 07:13 UTC] No.43522043[source]▶
Im sorry. I really just can’t understand or relate to this at all. Mobile web still feels like such a terrible experience, and apps generally don’t. When’s the last time you tried booking a flight on mobile web? And how do you deal with all of the real estate the browser steals? Having to log in every time when the app can just cache my authentication and FaceID me?
replies(5): >>43522133 #>>43522167 #>>43522174 #>>43522377 #>>43522947 #
2. andelink ◴[30 Mar 25 07:27 UTC] No.43522133[source]▶
Not who you replied to, but I more so do not rely on my phone for anything where I would prefer more screen real estate such as doing comparisons like buying flight tickets. I have never bought flight tickets on my phone, only on my computer. I prefer the bigger screen and keyboard for most things actually
3. renegat0x0 ◴[30 Mar 25 07:33 UTC] No.43522167[source]▶
Not so sure. There are a ton of bad apps. They also do not work properly often.

Besides companies focus on apps, not on web pages. Less money, less focus, therefore worse experience

4. wodenokoto ◴[30 Mar 25 07:34 UTC] No.43522174[source]▶
Seriously, booking hotels and flights is so much better on the web. You get multiple windows for easy flight and price comparisons, within and between providers.

I don’t understand people who use apps for this. It is such a pain.

replies(2): >>43524191 #>>43537241 #
5. wiseowise ◴[30 Mar 25 08:18 UTC] No.43522377[source]▶
> When’s the last time you tried booking a flight on mobile web?

A week ago, via TravelPerk which is literally a web wrapper.

> And how do you deal with all of the real estate the browser steals?

What?

> Having to log in every time when the app can just cache my authentication and FaceID me?

I literally use the same FaceID for my passwords/proton pass. Also, this depends on a website.

6. whstl ◴[30 Mar 25 10:14 UTC] No.43522947[source]▶
> Having to log in every time

Sounds like a broken web app.

You are currently using a webapp that doesn't do this. It's called Hacker News, and it never asks me to login every time on my phone.

> when the app can just cache my authentication and FaceID me

Sounds like a broken login form.

Hacker News also allows me to login with Face ID on my phone, thanks to my password manager.

Optionally webapps can also provide Passkeys.

replies(2): >>43523777 #>>43537258 #
7. terinjokes ◴[30 Mar 25 12:52 UTC] No.43523777[source]▶
> Sounds like a broken web app.

>

> You are currently using a webapp that doesn't do this. It's called Hacker News, and it never asks me to login every time on my phone.

Every time I visit Hacker News on my iPad I'm logged out. Apple has decided that if you don't visit a website often enough it will expire all your cookies for the site.

In practice that means I can log in to HN while I'm at the cafe one weekend and be logged out by the time I visit the next weekend.

replies(1): >>43539759 #
8. pasc1878 ◴[30 Mar 25 13:50 UTC] No.43524191[source]▶
You are comparing desktops to phones.

I do most things on my desktop for the reasons you say but on a phone multiple tabs etc is a pain.

replies(1): >>43524898 #
9. wodenokoto ◴[30 Mar 25 15:25 UTC] No.43524898{3}[source]▶
No, I’m saying that the booking.com app, or the Skyscanner app or any of their competitors don’t support multiple tabs.

Their websites do (although even on new phones you are at a greater risc of a tab being purged and needing a reload, but still you can multi tab on the mobile website)

replies(1): >>43532751 #
10. pasc1878 ◴[31 Mar 25 08:56 UTC] No.43532751{4}[source]▶
Ah the difference here is that I can't use multiple tabs on my phone as they are too small. So tabs are only relevant to me on desktops and even then I will often use new windows.
11. rzz3 ◴[31 Mar 25 17:03 UTC] No.43537241[source]▶
I almost always book via apps. I can compare flights by looking at Kayak (app), then actually book it in the carrier app. I think the workflow just has to adapt to the tools you’re using, and trying to follow the same methods you’d use on desktop just don’t work. I don’t think either particular method is objectively worse than the other for every use case.
12. rzz3 ◴[31 Mar 25 17:06 UTC] No.43537258[source]▶
Passkeys do definitely make the mobile web experience better, but unfortunately they’re still not widely supported. I’m not saying mobile web apps can’t be good, but a native app allows for a lot of UX optimization.
13. whstl ◴[31 Mar 25 20:44 UTC] No.43539759{3}[source]▶
Are you sure? My iPad has been logged on for months... the only that make it log off on the iPad is when I log off on the desktop.

Apparently HN does it on purpose and kills alls sessions on all devices when you log off.