Benedict Evans: Mobile is eating the world

This is an updated version of a presentation I first gave last autumn: the macro view of how mobile is changing the technology industry, the internet and the broader economy, here with slides and an accompanying talk track as I presented it to our limited partners earlier this month.

What is a Progressive Web App?

  • Progressive – Work for every user, regardless of browser choice because they’re built with progressive enhancement as a core tenet.
  • Responsive – Fit any form factor: desktop, mobile, tablet, or whatever is next.
  • Connectivity independent – Enhanced with service workers to work offline or on low quality networks.
  • App-like – Feel like an app to the user with app-style interactions and navigation because they’re built on the app shell model.
  • Fresh – Always up-to-date thanks to the service worker update process.
  • Safe – Served via HTTPS to prevent snooping and ensure content hasn’t been tampered with.
  • Discoverable – Are identifiable as “applications” thanks to W3C manifests and service worker registration scope allowing search engines to find them.
  • Re-engageable – Make re-engagement easy through features like push notifications.
  • Installable – Allow users to “keep” apps they find most useful on their home screen without the hassle of an app store.
  • Linkable – Easily share via URL and not require complex installation.

Apple: Support Universal Links

When you support universal links, iOS 9 users can tap a link to your website and get seamlessly redirected to your installed app without going through Safari. If your app isn’t installed, tapping a link to your website opens your website in Safari.

Universal links give you several key benefits that you don’t get when you use custom URL schemes.