Why a web app?

Alex Sawyer

December 01, 2023 13:05

I appreciate the plans to bring Vsco to desktop, but I’m wondering - why make a web app? A browser seems like a clunky platform to build a pro level photo suite especially when both the iPad and iPhone apps work great. Why not just port the iPad app to Mac and make a few updates to the UI? Heck, even an exact replica of the iPad app on Mac would have more features and reliability than the current studio version. Not trying to a troll here. I’m genuinely curious why the plan is for a web app instead of a native app.

1 Replies

Official comment
Kyle (VSCO Employee - Product Manager)

January 11, 2024 16:22
Hey Alex,

I see this is your second comment. Hopefully my first comment gave you some insight into what we are going to be doing with VSCO Studio on web (desktop). Your thoughts and ideas are absolutely welcome!

The reason we made a web app is for many reasons: 1. It's easier to update with new features and fix bugs without being beholden to an appstore. 2. It's a common misconception that a browser / web app is clunky. Great technological strides have been made over the years with web applications such that they perform at the same level and in some cases better than native apps. Many big name brands you may know of offer both native and web based applications for this very reason. 3. Developing for iPadOS requires additional resources on design and engineering and has a smaller overall market than iOS. We think it's better to put resources towards a team of web designer/engineers that can develop for browsers, which can also be used on tablets (iPad, Microsoft Surface, etc) 4. Keep in mind that web apps can also be PWA's. In fact, here's how to turn VSCO Studio on web into a PWA. Web apps can also be "wrapped" in native app technologies. See Electron.js and Tauri.app.

Hope this helps!

Kyle

Product Manager, VSCO Studio on web
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Why a web app?

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