App vs Web Debate: Developer Pushes Back on 'No Need to Build Apps Anymore'
LuoSays · x · 2026-08-22
A claim that "there's no need to build apps anymore — the web can do everything and skips Apple's cut" drew a point-by-point rebuttal from LuoSays, sparking a substantive debate on product form.
Key counterarguments:
- "Can be done on web" ≠ good UX: camera filter apps force an upload-wait-download loop, and fitness apps simply cannot access real-time heart rate, steps, or GPS on the web.
- Skipping the 15% cut costs you more in acquisition, trust, distribution, and user expectations — likely a bad trade.
- Hot updates are the web's real advantage, but what slows teams down is usually product decisions, design, and testing — not app review.
- Product value is form-agnostic: tool-like, low-frequency, search-driven needs fit the web, while needs built on "high-frequency opens + strong presence" may fail web-only validation from the start — not because the demand doesn't exist, but because the vehicle is wrong.
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