There's been an ongoing argument between native apps and progressive web applications. Google has maintained that this is not an "either-or" situation, and that there's room for both types of online platforms. One of the major factors that have continued to fuel the debate was that Apple devices didn't allow for the full range of PWA functionality that Android phones did. Without that, PWAs largely wouldn't be as good, or better than, native apps on Apple phones.But the recent iOS 11.03 releasechanged that. 

Why did Apple enable PWA features?

There are a lot of reasons why companies are favoring PWAs and most of them boil down to increased profits. PWAs can:

Sidestep the resistance of downloading native apps.

People don't like downloading apps. They take too long and use up a lot of data, especially if the user isn't connected to wifi. That means native apps have a narrowed amount of type for likely downloads. And unless a certain app became a critical part of a user's routine, it would be all but forgotten in thirty days. But PWAs don't have bulky downloads. All they are is a service worker, a cache, and an image for a user's home screen that looks and feels like an app.

Make data move faster.

Just like the best thing to come out of cryptocurrency is blockchain, one of the major strengths of PWAs is the service worker construct that enables it. Service workers are a technology that allows for smoother and more intuitive caches. Service workers can anticipate what users want to see and interact with, so they pull up that information and briefly store it locally. Not only does this make PWAs speedy, it gives them offline functionality, too. When most consumer browsing happens during commutes, in the office, and while waiting in lines, that's a major incentive to make sure your content is uninterrupted.

For more updates about PWAs and how to make sure your company is staying ahead of the crowd, contact our team.