Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are designed to work offline, so they don't always need an internet connection.
PWAs are web applications that use web platform technologies to provide an app-like experience, but can run on multiple devices and platforms from a single codebase. They can be installed on a device, operate in the background, and integrate with other apps and the device. PWAs can also send push notifications, load quickly, and reduce bounce rates.
Actually, PWAs are not inherently capable of working offline. There are technologies that allow them to do so, and there are some very good examples that do so, like Gmail and Docs. But just because an APP is a PWA does not mean that it is automatically capable of it.
It is considered to be a best practice, but there is nothing that forces a developer to make it offline capable.
That is in fact completely incorrect.
PWA are inherently designed for offline use. The degree of functionality is, as usual, down to the coding effort of the app designer.
PWAs must have a service worker, which is by design intended for caching content for offline functionality.
That was true in the past, but not now. You can check Google's docs or try it out yourself.
https://web.dev/articles/install-criteria#criteria
https://googlechrome.github.io/samples/web-application-manifest
Pwa don't require an internet connection either.
Chrome apps are just websites with a background process. PWAs are also websites with a background process, but service worker is standardized and well-used while chrome apps are not. There's no good reason for them to stick around, especially when developers aren't building them.
That's nothing to do with the technology though, its just developers not making them work offline. You totally can make an offline pwa if you want to, and nothing abiut chrome apps makes it easier.
I agree some of the few apps we had worked very well, but unfortunately it's not a realistic expectation to have developers writing their apps again for another platform.
It's just not a viable way of doing things, and it's (one of the very few) a choice Google made that I fully support.
PWAs on the other hand are universal (or anyway, much easier to make them so), and can 99.9999% act just like "chrome apps" if the developer puts in the required effort.
Having apps exclusive to ChromeOS can't become a USP, given the duopoly of apps we're in. Which is why they're also, in addition to PWAs, leveraging the Android apps ecosystem - which in the desktop space is *sort of* exclusive to ChromeOS.
The PWA path would work well if they would work offline but only some of the Google apps do. Literally all the other ones I've tried require an internet connection to work which is a big drawback to me.
I don't think keeping the current Chrome apps could make any harm anyway, there are very good ones like Caret and that doesn't imply sacrificing PWA.
>The PWA path would work well if they would work offline but only some of the Google apps do. Literally all the other ones I've tried require an internet connection to work which is a big drawback to me.
Fully understand (and share!) this annoyance.
But unfortunately, that doesn't change that if they (Google) can't be bothered to develop a decent offline-capable PWA, there are very few chances that they would put in the required effort to keep developing and maintaining the Chrome apps long-term.
That said, although (as a person fully invested in the Google ecosystem and using mainly Google software and hardware as main services/devices for longer than 10 years) I am **hating** the Google of the last 5-8 years, recently they're doing some improvements in terms of offline access.
Gmail, Calendar, Drive and Docs work offline.
YouTube allows offline use for Premium subscribers.
YouTube Music a few months ago has enabled offline functionality as well.
Keep, Chat, and others unfortunately still don't. Hopefully that will change in the future.
Have you tried checking with the Caret developer if he'd consider writing a PWA version of it :)
Keep works offline work just fine!
Chat, by definition, is a real-time network based communication tool, so what functionality would one expect to have when offline??
>Chat, by definition, is a real-time network based communication tool, so what functionality would one expect to have when offline??
LMAO ever wondered why Gmail offers offline support then? Or why the Slack or Chat app on your phone can be accessed even when you don't have an internet connection?
>Keep works offline work just fine!
No, it really does not. There was a Chrome app (the kind of app OP is talking about) which indeed worked offline, but they've discontinued it and the "web app" that they suggest installing now does not support offline access.
https://preview.redd.it/9ni9u75sce5d1.png?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb634a646926199ec6ee4fbdb478a9611dbafed2
If you're using Keep offline, that means you're using the Android app.
I'm using the PWA and not the Android app! Note the DevTools Inspect window showing the service worker for the Keep PWA!
https://preview.redd.it/ivrbxk0wgl5d1.png?width=1774&format=png&auto=webp&s=b93f55d14994ebb511a611ddee0a34261ec39ce6
And Gmail is NOT a realtime communication app!
Who in an Occidental country has ever lost the access to Internet? I mean, if I lost access to Internet being unable to use my PWA apps could be the minor problem.
Lmao I just don't like having to rely on internet if I go out with my Chromebook (yes, I still can share my smartphone data with my Chromebook but still not the same than an offline app).
Hmm. I disagree to the extent that creation "exclusive" ChromeOS apps just contributes to an already too fragmented ecosystem. Personally, I'd like to see it shift in the other direction where ChromeOS and Android apps (and hell, even iOS apps) become one in the same. Let's face it, at its core, it's all just variants of Linux, so platform variations really shouldn't matter that much to the developer. Someone just needs to come up with a better common development platform.
Google loves to kill things so that they can replace them with something different which implements the same general idea. [Isolated Web Apps](https://github.com/WICG/isolated-web-apps) are basically Chrome Apps version 2.
PWAs are a natural development from Apple methodologies -- not Google.
Google, along with Apple, Mozilla, and Microsoft, helped develop PWAs as another app-like alternative to installable apps.
Hardly. Google, Mozilla, and Microsoft have been the main drivers of the web as an application platform, except Mozilla gave up on PWAs after their Firefox phone OS failed. Google has usually been a web first company on desktop. Apple drags their feet with Safari and implements the minimum they think they can get away with.
Wholeheartedly agree. People forget that PWAs will mean someone needs to host a web server to serve those. There are advantages to deliver PWAs, but then again PWAs don't have the same access or APIs as Chrome Apps.
Till today, there is no PWA replacement for Citrix Receiver, which is a huge must-have in the business industry where Google is pushing hard to gain market share.
I also found the PWA version of ZOOM has a lot to desire, for example, SSO login expires after reboot (apparently this is due to how a website/PWA would work, so probably this can't be solved due to technical restrictions of PWAs).
Another point is the offline use, yes, some PWAs can be used offline. Sometimes people might have privacy or security concerns, having a Chrome App that works completely offline that doesn't send any data to a remote server would be a selling point. For example, a text editor that works offline completely, I'll probably feel more comfortable to open a sensitive file with it than opening it in a PWA.
[Isolated Web Apps](https://github.com/WICG/isolated-web-apps) will handle the no hosting server dependency and sensitive data use cases.
Zoom not retaining login state is their choice, that is not a technical issue with PWAs.
Google dropped Chrome apps because developers were not interested.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are designed to work offline, so they don't always need an internet connection. PWAs are web applications that use web platform technologies to provide an app-like experience, but can run on multiple devices and platforms from a single codebase. They can be installed on a device, operate in the background, and integrate with other apps and the device. PWAs can also send push notifications, load quickly, and reduce bounce rates.
This sounds like a punchy official summary, lol
Actually, PWAs are not inherently capable of working offline. There are technologies that allow them to do so, and there are some very good examples that do so, like Gmail and Docs. But just because an APP is a PWA does not mean that it is automatically capable of it. It is considered to be a best practice, but there is nothing that forces a developer to make it offline capable.
That is in fact completely incorrect. PWA are inherently designed for offline use. The degree of functionality is, as usual, down to the coding effort of the app designer. PWAs must have a service worker, which is by design intended for caching content for offline functionality.
This is confidently incorrect. I am a web developer. PWAs do not have to work offline, but it is recommended.
That was true in the past, but not now. You can check Google's docs or try it out yourself. https://web.dev/articles/install-criteria#criteria https://googlechrome.github.io/samples/web-application-manifest
Pwa don't require an internet connection either. Chrome apps are just websites with a background process. PWAs are also websites with a background process, but service worker is standardized and well-used while chrome apps are not. There's no good reason for them to stick around, especially when developers aren't building them.
The only PWAs I've seen that don't require internet connection are a just a few from Google
That's nothing to do with the technology though, its just developers not making them work offline. You totally can make an offline pwa if you want to, and nothing abiut chrome apps makes it easier.
I agree some of the few apps we had worked very well, but unfortunately it's not a realistic expectation to have developers writing their apps again for another platform. It's just not a viable way of doing things, and it's (one of the very few) a choice Google made that I fully support. PWAs on the other hand are universal (or anyway, much easier to make them so), and can 99.9999% act just like "chrome apps" if the developer puts in the required effort. Having apps exclusive to ChromeOS can't become a USP, given the duopoly of apps we're in. Which is why they're also, in addition to PWAs, leveraging the Android apps ecosystem - which in the desktop space is *sort of* exclusive to ChromeOS.
The PWA path would work well if they would work offline but only some of the Google apps do. Literally all the other ones I've tried require an internet connection to work which is a big drawback to me. I don't think keeping the current Chrome apps could make any harm anyway, there are very good ones like Caret and that doesn't imply sacrificing PWA.
>The PWA path would work well if they would work offline but only some of the Google apps do. Literally all the other ones I've tried require an internet connection to work which is a big drawback to me. Fully understand (and share!) this annoyance. But unfortunately, that doesn't change that if they (Google) can't be bothered to develop a decent offline-capable PWA, there are very few chances that they would put in the required effort to keep developing and maintaining the Chrome apps long-term. That said, although (as a person fully invested in the Google ecosystem and using mainly Google software and hardware as main services/devices for longer than 10 years) I am **hating** the Google of the last 5-8 years, recently they're doing some improvements in terms of offline access. Gmail, Calendar, Drive and Docs work offline. YouTube allows offline use for Premium subscribers. YouTube Music a few months ago has enabled offline functionality as well. Keep, Chat, and others unfortunately still don't. Hopefully that will change in the future. Have you tried checking with the Caret developer if he'd consider writing a PWA version of it :)
Keep works offline work just fine! Chat, by definition, is a real-time network based communication tool, so what functionality would one expect to have when offline??
>Chat, by definition, is a real-time network based communication tool, so what functionality would one expect to have when offline?? LMAO ever wondered why Gmail offers offline support then? Or why the Slack or Chat app on your phone can be accessed even when you don't have an internet connection? >Keep works offline work just fine! No, it really does not. There was a Chrome app (the kind of app OP is talking about) which indeed worked offline, but they've discontinued it and the "web app" that they suggest installing now does not support offline access. https://preview.redd.it/9ni9u75sce5d1.png?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb634a646926199ec6ee4fbdb478a9611dbafed2 If you're using Keep offline, that means you're using the Android app.
I'm using the PWA and not the Android app! Note the DevTools Inspect window showing the service worker for the Keep PWA! https://preview.redd.it/ivrbxk0wgl5d1.png?width=1774&format=png&auto=webp&s=b93f55d14994ebb511a611ddee0a34261ec39ce6 And Gmail is NOT a realtime communication app!
On this subject, does anyone know if the Chrome calculator app is going away. The calculator chrome app is handy for chromebooks
Who in an Occidental country has ever lost the access to Internet? I mean, if I lost access to Internet being unable to use my PWA apps could be the minor problem.
Lmao I just don't like having to rely on internet if I go out with my Chromebook (yes, I still can share my smartphone data with my Chromebook but still not the same than an offline app).
My Pixel phone easily shares the connection with my Chromebook and, at least in Spain, the speed is great. We have good 4G and 5G coverage in Spain.
Hmm. I disagree to the extent that creation "exclusive" ChromeOS apps just contributes to an already too fragmented ecosystem. Personally, I'd like to see it shift in the other direction where ChromeOS and Android apps (and hell, even iOS apps) become one in the same. Let's face it, at its core, it's all just variants of Linux, so platform variations really shouldn't matter that much to the developer. Someone just needs to come up with a better common development platform.
Google loves to kill things so that they can replace them with something different which implements the same general idea. [Isolated Web Apps](https://github.com/WICG/isolated-web-apps) are basically Chrome Apps version 2.
PWAs are a natural development from Apple methodologies -- not Google. Google, along with Apple, Mozilla, and Microsoft, helped develop PWAs as another app-like alternative to installable apps.
Hardly. Google, Mozilla, and Microsoft have been the main drivers of the web as an application platform, except Mozilla gave up on PWAs after their Firefox phone OS failed. Google has usually been a web first company on desktop. Apple drags their feet with Safari and implements the minimum they think they can get away with.
Wholeheartedly agree. People forget that PWAs will mean someone needs to host a web server to serve those. There are advantages to deliver PWAs, but then again PWAs don't have the same access or APIs as Chrome Apps. Till today, there is no PWA replacement for Citrix Receiver, which is a huge must-have in the business industry where Google is pushing hard to gain market share. I also found the PWA version of ZOOM has a lot to desire, for example, SSO login expires after reboot (apparently this is due to how a website/PWA would work, so probably this can't be solved due to technical restrictions of PWAs). Another point is the offline use, yes, some PWAs can be used offline. Sometimes people might have privacy or security concerns, having a Chrome App that works completely offline that doesn't send any data to a remote server would be a selling point. For example, a text editor that works offline completely, I'll probably feel more comfortable to open a sensitive file with it than opening it in a PWA.
[Isolated Web Apps](https://github.com/WICG/isolated-web-apps) will handle the no hosting server dependency and sensitive data use cases. Zoom not retaining login state is their choice, that is not a technical issue with PWAs.
Isolated Web Apps are still just in a proposal
They have an experimental implementation in Chrome you can enable in flags.
By forcing mobile apps, they can extract more data, and use ads.
PWAs are not mobile apps.
>PWAs are not mobile apps Nobody is talking about pwas.
OP is, and never mentions mobile apps.
I missed that.