I am evaluating whether to build a native Android app vs. a progressive web app (PWA). PWAs seem to gain a lot of traction recently, and especially on Android with Chrome (+ Desktop) seem to support a lot of functionalities and access to device APIs.
What I can't find anything about:
Is it possible to integrate a PWA with Google Assistant the same way as a native app? Assume I want to build an Audio app, can I make it work with Google Assistant even in the form of a PWA? Not talking about just having the assistant open the app - it should be able to also handle request such as "play 50 cent on app_name" etc.
Besides the voice assistant integration, any other thoughts on why I should or should not build a PWA vs. a native Android app?
Thanks a lot in advance!!
Actions that can interact with web apps via voic ewill only be approved for games at the current time.
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I've watched some videos about Bubble.io that you can create mobile applications without code, in addition to building and linking the database of the system and doing the work/process flow of the App. Can this platform provide us with the functionality and build both the frontend and backend to release a native mobile app
Yes, you can create web apps with Bubble.io and wrap them into native Android / iOS apps with the converter Natively. It allows enabling a lot of native features like push notifications, biometrics authorization, geolocation, universal links etc.
FYI, FlutterFlow is a pretty great alternative to Bubble.io in building mobile apps in terms of functionalities. Bubble.io is preferable for apps that need quick pivoting (changes are made real-time to end users without having to rebuild the app and to require users to update their apps) yet it is incomparable to FlutterFlow and other mobile app builders in terms of UX. Fair trade off I think.
Can I build custom actions to leverage the Google Assistant SDK without needing to be online? I'd like to have the natural language parser to help me navigate my Android App, even when offline. That is, speak to it and say special words to navigate the screens and what not, using the voice instructions of the user.
This seems totally possible using the Assistant SDK on the internet, but I need the app to run on my android even outside of connectivity.
Google assistant uses google servers so I don't think it is possible, but there are some other options check out this link.
Android: Speech Recognition without using google server
I am about to start a project to develop app that will run on iOS and Android. Most of the functionalities are very basic. Creating membership, login, viewing some content, entering forms data etc. However, there will be many pages. It is like a Web Site. iOS and Android App will have same functionalities.
I am considering developing this as Web App then creating a native iOS and Android App with a WebView. In that case, my users will download the apps from App Store and Play Store but my Web App will work inside that native apps.
I am willing to do that because apps functionalities will be same and there many simple pages in the apps. This will give me huge benefits. For example, i will implement once and use it in two different app, create new releases mostly without publishing the apps again etc.
I am planning to implement mobile app related things on the native apps like Push Notifications, Crash Reporting, Google Analytics etc. and rest of the functionalities in the Web App
Is this a common practice?
Is there any name for it? (I believe this is not a Hybrid App since Web App will be remote on the cloud)
What are the possible technical difficulties?
What other technologies i need?
How can i done Authentication / Authorization securely (My users will login to app once and then use it without login each use of the app)
Is there any rule against it? Like does the Apple App Guideline allow it?
Is there any framework to use for such need?
Thanks
I wouldn't recommend you to build a native app just for the use of a wrapper. In this case it is better to write a responsive web app. You can bookmark the website on your home screen and it will use the favicon as the apps icon.
Check out progressive web apps. This may be what you are looking for:
Progressive Web Apps
Recently I just started to learn Android Instant app. As far I research, it make me feel that it behaves like a Web App, which used to replace mobile websites.
This may be a dumb question, but I want to figure out whether Android Instant app is a Web App or not. And, any difference between both of them ?
Android Instant Apps allows Android users to run your apps instantly, without installation.
Web apps or Now most used as Progressive Web Apps are user experiences that have the reach of the web, and are: Reliable - Load instantly and never show the downasaur, even in uncertain network conditions
Differenrences between Webapp and AndroidInstantApp:
Web apps have lack integration with some smartphone features like contacts,Bluetooth, flashlight etc. AIAs always have.
Web apps can be crawled and discovered by search engines. While they don’t need to be developed as fully fledged apps, they still need to
be developed as web apps that meet Google’s standards.Whereas AIAs only need to be upgraded from the already existing
native mobile app.
You can also got more info here:- Android Instant Apps
Native Android apps, without the installation
Instant Apps are Native applications.
The description says:
Native Android apps, without the installation
An evolution in app sharing and discovery, Android Instant Apps allows
Android users to run your apps instantly, without installation.
Android users experience what they love about apps—fast and beautiful
user interfaces, high performance, and great capabilities—with just a
tap.
You can see the official documentations from here.
A android instace app can be run without internet and ... not a web app :)
I'd like to develop a "native app" for Android/IPhone.
To save development time, I would like to use an online HTML/PHP application to deliver the functionality and UI of the app. In Android, an embeddable browser can be achieved using WebView.
My app will not use any native-API specific functionality or devices(e.g. camera, geolocation).
Is it permissible to market an app Google Play that simply embeds a mobile friendly website?
Sure, why wouldn't it? There is no specific filtering, apart from the obvious malicious.
First off, this would not be a "native" app. It would be a cross-platform app.
There is no "Android Marketplace" -- do you mean the Google Play store? If so, yes, they will accept just about any app, provided you comply with their guidelines. For example, you can't sell in-app content through any means other than Google's own in-app purchasing.
That said, there's no solid php implementation for Android that I know of. The vast majority of the cross-platform apps utilize HTML/javascript. So much so, that there are quite a number of readily available frameworks available, such as PhoneGap, Sencha Touch, etc.