“It works better in the app”(shkspr.mobi)
688 points by blenderob 13 days ago | 467 comments
tl;dr: Google's Android Calendar app inexplicably can't subscribe to a calendar via URL—you have to open the desktop web version to do it, then the calendar magically appears in the app. The author argues this pattern is endemic: companies push users into apps for engagement metrics, but half-build them and punt users back to the web for anything nontrivial, defeating the entire point of having a native app.
HN Discussion:
  • Users refuse to install apps that gate functionality unnecessarily, opting out of the service entirely
  • ~Apple's marketing, not Google, is to blame for the native-app-first culture
  • Being pushed into an app signals abusive intent like tracking and ad-blocker evasion
  • PWAs are a superior alternative that serve both users and developers better
  • Google apps are poorly designed by people who don't actually use them