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Android

Ben Jakuben
STAFF
Ben Jakuben
Treehouse Teacher
Posted by Ben Jakuben
Ben Jakuben
Treehouse Teacher

Google Launches Developer Preview Of Chrome Apps For Android And iOS

Google Launches Developer Preview Of Chrome Apps For Android And iOS, App Submissions Start Immediately

There are lots of tools to create mobile apps for Android and iOS using web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, but I'm pretty excited about this one. While there will always be a place for true native apps (written in Java for Android and Objective-C for iOS), there is so much potential for apps written in web technologies just like the ubiquity of web apps we see on our legacy PCs. ;-)

What does everyone think about this topic? This tool? Has anyone tried it out yet? I am anxious to create a few apps and run some benchmarks to see how they compare with native versions. I'll post updates somewhere (maybe the Treehouse Blog if a full article is appropriate).

The biggest blocks to web technologies for native apps boil down to two things:

1) Access to native hardware features like the camera, geolocation, touch events, and the accelerometer and other sensors. 2) Performance. Even the tiniest lag is noticeable by users.

This may not be the bridge to the future yet, but at the very least it's another step down that path.

4 Answers

Ryan Carson
Ryan Carson
23,287 Points
Ryan Carson
Ryan Carson
23,287 Points

I'm really excited about this, but then again I would be as I use a Chrome Pixel ;)

Ben Jakuben
Ben Jakuben
Treehouse Teacher
Ben Jakuben
Ben Jakuben
Treehouse Teacher

Perfect - I have you on my list of beta testers for cross-platform apps! :-D

Justin Horner
STAFF
Justin Horner
Treehouse Guest Teacher
Justin Horner
Justin Horner
Treehouse Guest Teacher

I'm very interested in this topic and I'm excited to hear about this tool. Thanks for sharing.

Ben Jakuben
STAFF
Ben Jakuben
Treehouse Teacher
Ben Jakuben
Ben Jakuben
Treehouse Teacher

Why Chrome apps on Android could be a very bad thing

There are some valid concerns in this article, but I disagree. I think the overall effect will be positive and that it's a move in the right direction. I think the biggest worry is having the same layout on all platforms, but longer term, is that a bad thing? I don't want to see iOS conventions take over on Android, but I do want to see the best conventions win out on all platforms.