Why we Need an App Browser
summary
Claims that the web already loses on mobile — 90% time in apps vs 10% browser, 68% of adults have smartphones 50% own a tablet — and proposes an app browser that swaps a webview for a native bundle by sending a postMessage bundle URL and mounting an RCTRootView. Prototype uses WKWebView for progress, is written in React Native, and demonstrates the idea works; Expo gets cited as a near-term tooling solution and the talk calls for a standard library and URL-driven app routing.
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chapters (33)
- 0:00Intro
- 0:54The Future
- 1:11Mobile Usage
- 2:56Graph
- 3:33App Browsers
- 4:07Performance
- 4:54Web History
- 5:09World Wide Web
- 5:47App Browser
- 6:05JavaScript
- 7:21HTML5 came along
- 7:45Build some realdeal apps
- 8:20Challenges we face
- 9:12Progressive Web Apps
- 9:44TWA
- 10:31Platform Limitations
- 11:56We Need an App Browser
- 12:10Why dont we just build native apps
- 12:20Problems with native apps
- 13:37Why not both
- 14:17Crossplatform API bridge
- 14:49Browser
- 15:39How it works
- 16:40How it works part 2
- 17:17Example code
- 17:42What about the web
- 18:04Progressive enhancement
- 18:45React Safari
- 19:30Bridging the Communication
- 21:09Proof of Concept
- 21:21Expo Real
- 22:17XEL
- 22:49Im not a web guy
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