Comment by viktorcode | Hacker News Reader

Comment by viktorcode | Hacker News Reader

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Fair points on downsides and upsides of using Electron in development. But there's huge gaping hole in this logic: the points are given from the perspective of software developers, not software users. Users, given the choice between native and Electron, would overwhelmingly choose the former.

Speaking as a user I don’t care about your production costs and your programming knowledge. I care about my experiences. That’s why many Electron-based programs are marketed to managers as “solutions”, not to the actual end users.

As a macOS user let me add to the list of complaints mentioned by the author. Despite having fully functioning native iOS apps, some companies will not allow installing those directly on M1 based Macs, nor would they produce a rather simple ports for macOS. They will insist for you to use Electron-based client, like everyone else does. Teams, Slack, Discord. So I do agree that at least in this case Electron is evil.

> Users, given the choice between native and Electron, would overwhelmingly choose the former.

I think tech people tend to assume this way too much without having any kind of evidence.

I actually prefer electron apps. They usually have a nice looking, modern design and are more consistent with web where I spend most of the time anyway. I doubt I am alone in this.

> Users, given the choice between native and Electron, would overwhelmingly choose the former.

They might choose the former but then what? I would too, as a user, but in practice as the article mentions the alternatives aren't yet that great. So quite often the user can choose between the Electron app... or nothing. Many users accept the drawbacks and in fact it's mostly developers or technical people in general who complain about Electron. Most users don't even know about any of this.

That's a great point. Choice is often between Electron or nothing. Why? Because even when they can afford it, software development corporations prefer to save money on the development. Even if they save peanuts, as in my example regarding apps on M1.

Obviously, this can exists only when there's no or minimum competition for the end users.

If a user had to choose between a native app and their top 10 most anticipated features, which would they choose?

As an end-user I love Electron because it allows products to evolve quicker and across all platforms. I would choose an Electron app (or if it runs in a browser, even better) over a native one.

Would you mind providing the sources for the claim that "would overhelmingly choose the former"? I'd love to read a report or study about that.

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