I am creating a PWA application running on both iOS and Android. There is a requirement on the app to support navigation. I know it is hard to support the navigation on a PWA app what I want to achieve is that to popup a dialog to ask users to open a native app for navigation such as google map or apple map etc. How can I do that through PWA application?
Another use case is that how I can pass additional information to the native app? For example, I create a native app and want it to be open from a PWA app. How can PWA app open my native app and pass a json data.
For opening native maps apps, use URL schemes.
For example if you want to open the Apple maps app focussing the apple headquarter, use this URL: http://maps.apple.com/?address=1,Infinite+Loop,Cupertino,California.
If you open such link in the Safari browser, a popup opens which asks to open the Apple maps native app. (source)
For the Google maps app, it is similar. You just have to use Google maps links like this: https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=Infinite+Loop,Cupertino,California. (source)
JSON Derulo's answer successfully answers your question regarding local map links. However I believe this answer here will answer the second half of your question on how to pass information to native apps on the device. In short, you'll want to use an Android intent to pass any information you want to send.
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Is it possible to create a mobile app for both Andriod and iOS which will display the same data as on a website written in HTML CSS and js?
The site only displays information but this info is used regularly by users. I have been asked if it's possible to create an app that the same info would be available on? Ideally, any changes made to the website would be reflected in the app without having to change the code for the app as well.
edit - The page on the app will still need functionality i.e being able to open modals when a button is clicked.
You could embed your site in a native app using a WebView. Nowadays you have several technologies as React native and Flutter that could help publishing your site as a multiplatform app.
We have several landing pages that link to Google Play and iOS App Store. I would love to know the landing page that a person came from within the app code. I have searched around and can't find any clear answer. Lots of gray area.
I just want to access the landing page URL in Java or Swift.
I realize iOS and Android are two separate beasts. But does anyone know how I could achieve this?
You will need to use Firebase Dynamic Links this helps you create various links using various alternatives as shown in this quote from the official Firebase source:
You create a Dynamic Link either by using the Firebase console, using a REST API, iOS or Android Builder API, or by forming a URL by adding Dynamic Link parameters to a domain specific to your app.
Then your app can access the link in code using Java or Swift and the link will work even if the user has your app already in their phone and you can set a logic to handle that too and the links are also automatically direct the user to AppStore or PlayStore depending on which device is used.
Dont worry about whether the link will work for both Android and iOS and you can use the api to access the link as this quote says.
With Dynamic Links, your users get the best available experience for the platform they open your link on. If a user opens a Dynamic Link on iOS or Android, they can be taken directly to the linked content in your native app. If a user opens the same Dynamic Link in a desktop browser, they can be taken to the equivalent content on your website.
In addition, Dynamic Links work across app installs: if a user opens a Dynamic Link on iOS or Android and doesn't have your app installed, the user can be prompted to install it; then, after installation, your app starts and can access the link.
You can get more information on dynamic links here and check if it will solve your problem.
I have a mobile website, users user smart phone browser to access my site.
Now some users would like to have an Android App.
So is there any easy and fast way to create an Android App which will access the existing mobile website so that I can have an Android App without developing Android app?
You would have to create a "wrapper" Android App. That is a native Android App with a Main Activity that contains a WebView with JavaScript enabled and some sort of navigation controls either on the mobile website or the native app (buttons or menu) but you could bump into problems such as:
Users being stuck in a particular page with no way to navigating back or forward.
Google is now more picky with the apps and they have policies to reject or ban apps that are only wrappers or point to external websites (kind of what Apple did for iOS)
Any case, you would have to create a mobile layout for your website or a make it responsive (special CSS and JS UI/UX that fits better on mobile devices).
Another alternative is to make your website compatible with PROGRESSIVE WEB APPS (https://developers.google.com/web/progressive-web-apps/) which is basically a Web app with some special elements that allow it to receive push notifications, put a shortcut or app icon on the device's home screen, etc.
Good luck! Hope this helped!
You can use android WebView. For more details you go through the link Android Webview
the only way to do that, using WebView on your apps or you need to create manually
You can put your code into Cordova and convert it into other IDE like android studio or eclipse .
reference:
Import Cordova project in Android Studio
I'm looking for the easiest solution to the following scenario:
I've developed a web app.
I need to send an sms with link+parameters for a unique user's registration.
BUT I want the link to direct to a native app installation that will install an app icon on home screen, and all this native app has to do is open the link to the web app.
By that I can avoid the Awkward solution of using bookmarks in android.
I know nothing about mobile app programming, so by easiest I mean: Either very basic tutorial, or a working native app that I can just change the URL and resubmit it as a new Native app.
or Any other easy suggestion
Can a custom FB web app be used inside the iOS / android FB apps? Docs are not very clear on that. You can create Bookmarks for native apps, but I want to have a bookmark pointing to our custom FB web app canvas. The goal is to develop an app that's usable on all platforms.
I've been making some test and I could'n execute a non native app from facebook app or web page, and it's not easy to load facebook web page in PC mode from a mobile device.
The official Facebook documentation for iOS says:
When a user does a search in the Facebook app your app will be visible if it passes a usage threshold. The search results will display apps that have been configured for SSO support. When the user selects your app from the search results they will be directed to your app. If the user had previously authorized your app they will be authenticated when your app is launched.
I guess that for Android will be pretty like this. So if you develop a native app that only shows a WebView pointint to your web (pretty simple by the way in iOS and android) must work with no problems.
Usually Facebook APPs are on Flash, so I don't think that it will work on iOS (Please correct me if I'm wrong with the Flash issue).
On Android, it would be extremely easy, having in mind it works with Flash with 0 problems. You'd just have to implement a WebView on your layout and point to the url of your facebook app.
In general, you can really create applications that work on both systems, iOS and Android, playing with the webView's. However, you have to know that they will never work as if they were written on native code in terms of performance.
From what I've seen, if a developer already has an existing mobile version of their app which is also on Facebook, they are able to create a tab for it that will appear on Facebook for iOS and Facebook for Android. I don't think you can create a bookmark to the webapp version to be seen on a mobile phone. Users can of course bookmark your webapp on their browsers, though.