{"id":46889,"date":"2025-02-27T15:10:15","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T20:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=46889"},"modified":"2025-03-05T09:15:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T14:15:29","slug":"the-tyranny-of-apps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2025\/02\/27\/the-tyranny-of-apps\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tyranny of Apps"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rupert Jones<\/a> (Hacker News<\/a>):<\/p>\n

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Apps have burrowed their way into seemingly every aspect of our lives and there are lots of reasons why companies are pushing us to use them. With an app, it is often “one click and you’re in”, rather than having to faff around online finding the website and remembering passwords. It is also for the “push notifications” that mobile apps send to grab our attention and get us to buy stuff. Many tech experts also argue that apps are generally more secure than websites and allow banks and others to carry out sophisticated ID verification using face, voice and fingerprint biometrics.<\/p>\n

But millions of people who cannot afford a smartphone or have an older device that does not support some services are increasingly being locked out of deals, discounts and even some vital services, say digital exclusion and pro-cash campaigners.<\/p>\n

They are missing out on everything from savings on their weekly shop, to some of the best interest rates for their cash. And not signing up to the app revolution is making activities including paying for parking and going to concerts increasingly challenging.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

I do have a smartphone, so I can run the apps, but I don’t like it when they could have just been Web sites. Having a large number of these limited-use apps takes up a lot of space: in phone storage, on the home screen, and in the App Store’s list of updated apps. Sometimes an app will have lower quality images\/maps than the Web site or will refuse to function, right when you need it, unless you install an update. They’re often less reliable, worse at remembering logins, or require an e-mail magic link dance.<\/p>\n\n

Apple<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the world’s top food publishers, including Allrecipes, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Good Food, and Serious Eats.<\/p>\n

With the new Food feature, users will be able to find stories curated by Apple News editors, as well as browse, search, and filter tens of thousands of recipes in the Recipe Catalog — with new recipes added every day.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

I think Apple News would have a better user experience with a Web site and an RSS feed than as an app.<\/p>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n