App Should Have Been a Website (and Probably Your Game Too)

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Native vs Web: Performance & Capabilities

  • Some argue a well-implemented native app is always superior: better performance, lower resource use, smoother UI, more direct access to OS features (Bluetooth, background GPS, contacts, sensors, richer notifications, AR, etc.).
  • Others counter that for many use cases the web is “fast enough,” and the ability to run anywhere outweighs a 2x performance gain on a single platform.
  • Web limitations discussed: incomplete access to iOS APIs, weak background/location support, patchy WebBluetooth/WebUSB/WebGPU/WebCodecs, service-worker complexity, keyboard/viewport quirks on mobile, and stricter storage/caching limits on iOS.

Distribution, Discovery & User Behavior

  • Strong consensus that distribution/discovery is often more important than tech: app stores are powerful channels.
  • Many non-technical users expect “apps” to be in app stores and do not think in terms of URLs or browsers; some barely use Safari/Chrome.
  • Homescreen icons and app presence increase retention and “stickiness” versus a bookmark or tab.
  • Some developers are pressured into native apps purely for visibility, despite thin UX justification.

PWAs and Platform Politics

  • PWAs can: work offline (service workers), send push notifications, be added to home screens, and often feel app-like.
  • Android and desktop browsers offer install prompts and store listing for PWAs; on iOS, installation is possible but hidden behind a multi-step “Add to Home Screen” flow.
  • iOS limitations (WebKit-only engines, constrained APIs, notification rules, past moves to disable EU PWAs) are widely viewed as deliberate friction to keep developers in the native/app-store funnel.

Games: Web vs Native

  • Skeptics say WebGL/WebGPU are far from native for complex/AAA games: tight memory/asset budgets, weaker tooling, single-queue WebGPU, missing features, and browser overhead.
  • Others note modern web tech plus WASM can handle casual/2D and some 3D games well; distribution is trivial and multi-platform by default.
  • Studios report web ports as marginal revenue with worse metrics than mobile; entrenched mobile UA/analytics stacks and Unity’s ecosystem reinforce native dominance.
  • Monetization on web is challenging (ad-driven, “lootbox” criticism) compared to app-store IAP/ads.

Efficiency & Developer Experience

  • Many complain about bloated web apps (Electron/SPAs) that are slow, RAM-hungry, and battery-intensive versus lean native UIs (Qt/QML, SwiftUI, Compose).
  • Others emphasize that poorly designed native apps exist too; quality of engineering and design matters more than platform.
  • Native toolkits are praised for strong dev experience in some ecosystems; others find the web simpler to iterate and deploy.

Privacy, Control & Longevity

  • Apps are seen as better for tracking and advertising: richer data, harder-to-block ads, in-app browsers that can inject tracking JS.
  • Web lets users block ads, customize, and sometimes archive or self-host; but sites can change or vanish without recourse.
  • Native binaries can often be sideloaded or preserved and run for years, but they still depend on backends and evolving OSes.

Business & Cost Considerations

  • App stores charge 15–30% and annual fees but handle VAT, refunds, and distribution.
  • Web apps incur hosting, database, and bot-hardening costs; some devs report total cost exceeding their older native-only setups.
  • Solo devs and small teams often prefer a single responsive web app over parallel iOS/Android codebases, citing maintenance burden and slower feature delivery when supporting three frontends.