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Comment by blub | Hacker News Reader

I have to admit it's better than most web apps I've seen. However...

After downloading Townske I get hit by three modal dialogs one after the other:

* notifications

* location access

* query about installing an update, even though I've just downloaded the app. If I select install, nothing happens, no progress bar or anything.

Developing for a platform is more than having native-looking widgets, it also means taking conventions and user expectations into consideration.

I am referring to things like the tab bar which has a back button, having a next button and also page swiping in the intro, not throwing popus at the customer, etc.

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The update message I've not generally seen before, but nearly every app I've used asks for at least the first two individually. The modals to allow notifications, location access, and other granular permissions on iOS is a good-practice pattern.

Good onboarding will however prepare the user for the appearance of those dialogs, or ideally only present them when the user performs an action that requires access to e.g. location services or push messages.

Agreed entirely, if it's just blasting them out on first-use then they could definitely tighten that up.

Agreed, we probably need to work on offsetting those prompts til after onboarding, and preparing the user. An implementation issue though, not a react native one.

The two permissions modals are required by iOS to access those features, and RN definitely has the ability to defer when those are shown.

The update prompt is actually from http://microsoft.github.io/code-push/ which allows us to push minor updates directly to the app without going via the app store. Say goodbye to 2 week time cycles. A newer release of Code Push actually doesn't prompt the user at all, and can download an update during use and load it when the app goes inactive.

I am pretty sure these things can be obtained, and will be easier to achieve as it matures.

As well as devs following good practice with modal dialogues.

I used Titanium to build a cross-platform app, and once I understood what it is writing with my JS, I could ensure native/performant UI elements and animations were being rendered.

Really excited to see how this pans out :`)

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