There is hardly any service today that isn’t available online. And if it is available online, it is almost certain that there is an app for that. If you look from the business perspective, businesses with apps get large userbase to whom they can cater their services, while the users get the convenience of availability every service just on a few clicks.
But there is one problem- though smartphones of today are exponentially more powerful than the supercomputers of a few decades ago, their processing power and memory capabilities aren’t infinite. They pose a limit to the number of applications they can run smoothly.
This essentially means that despite having a countless number of amazing apps and services at their disposal, there is only a handful that the users can access with convenience. To overcome such a barrier, Google introduced the concept of Progressive Web Apps in 2015, which has since then seen massive growth and acceptance. Progressive web apps promise to change the way in which we perceive and use mobile apps.
So, What Exactly are Progressive Web Apps?
To understand what progressive apps are, it is first essential to understand how native apps and web apps differ from each other. Native apps are built using native APIs, i.e., are optimized to offer better features and performance on any specific platform. But this superior performance and user experience come at the cost of higher memory consumption. Web apps, on the other hand, run inside the browser and require minimal resources to operate, it lacks other features though.
Progressive apps can be considered the bridge between the two. They are at their core- web application- but wrapped in a native interface. So, when a user launches such an app, they get a full-fledged experience of a native application without the device taking a toll. Let’s take a look at how it trumps both:
Progressive Apps Over Native Apps
#1. Ease of Usage
To use a native app, users have to first visit their corresponding app store, download the app that is often of very large size, register, and then finally use it. Progressive apps do not have such hectic procedures and the users have to just click on the URL and the app is ready to use.
#2. No Limit
No matter how high-end a smartphone is, there is a limit to the number of apps that it can run without the performance taking a hit. But with progressive apps, it’s like surfing the web, where there is no limit to the number of websites you can open.
#3. Security
If you have ever downloaded an app from any app store, you may have noticed the long list of permissions they demand before installation. These apps can generally access all the major files of the phone, which if corrupted, can put the security of your personal data at risk. But since Progressive apps run on the browser and require no such permission, there are no such risks associated with it.
Progressive Apps Over Web Apps
#1. Better User Experience
Web applications are generic and often slow-to-load and tough to navigate on mobile devices. This results in a poor user experience. Progressive apps, on the other hand, offer a native-like interface and are a breeze to operate.
#2. Feature Rich
There is a fundamental limit to the number of features and level of personalization that a web application development can offer. Contrarily, with native binding, they also see a considerable boost in such capabilities and can offer better features to their users.
So, when you take all the above factors into consideration, it becomes evident that progressive apps are indeed the future of mobile applications, promising a refined level of user experience.
