Ask HN: How would we do a better app store? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How would we do a better app store?

10 points6r1713 comments

Hi HN,

I'm working on a new exciting platform for web-apps and I was wondering if the HN community had any specific hopes for a better app-store

Thanks for your time !

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For me probably filters that are actually useful e.g. Top free apps with no ads

Whats annoying is that Google play has all the data to let you do this but they don't let you filter by if it contains ads or not.

Would that even be possible for web apps? They could be updated at any time.

There are third party apps to access Google play, but I've never uses them so I don't know if that feature exists.

There could be a report feature. If I visit your site because you claim there are no ads, but I do get them, I can report your app and have someone verify it

Honestly, I'm pretty fine with them as-is as a user. Discoverability, rating, and feature description out-of-band, as in reading about them on the web, hearing about them on a podcast, seeing them on a friend's device, is good enough that I never feel any need to browse the store itself. As long as I can type in a name, download, install, and choose whether or not to auto-update, that's all I need. Apple's ability to manage and cancel subscriptions from one place, rather than needing to navigate a maze of different policies and procedures for each app individually, is also great.

I'm sure the experience can be improved for developers, but as a user, why should I care?

When you're talking about a store for "web apps," I guess I'm curious what that would even mean. Web apps don't need to be installed or updated. You just visit a URL in your browser and it's there. Every time you visit, the version that loads in your browser is up to date. What purpose does a store serve? Are you talking about something like IMDB for web apps but making production studios pay for listings and calling it a store?

Start with a capabilities based operating system, unlike phones and tablets with "permission management". This allows the user to decide exactly what resources the "app" gets at runtime, and it doesn't get any others.

At that point, it really can be whatever model you like, open source, or shareware, or closed source. If the operating system is doing it's job, then you can just run anything, and still be reasonably safe.

At that point, an "app store" is really just a catalog with ratings, etc.

I’m happy enough with the Apple App Store.

What I’m not interested in is living among a lot of app stores. I don‘t want to learn disparate rules for trial periods, refund policies, subscription renewal notices, etc.

That said, I want to feel like I own my hardware and OS and side-loading or native installs are required for that.

You want to feel like you own your hardware and OS or you want to actually own it?

Forgive the pedantry, but there is a huge difference. You can go with a Linux phone for the closest to full ownership, Pixel + GrapheneOS for basically full functional middle ground, or stick with an iPhone for the least method of ownership.

I want good software. For client/consumer stuff, it seems necessary to pay for it. Though I run lots of Linux in my life too. But Linux makes a terrible laptop experience, and a terrible phone experience.

Define "better". For crooks, the best app store is the one that does absolutely no attempts to shoot down fake reviews and allows any app no matter what it really does.

> and allows any app no matter what it really does

Many malicious apps get through, and legitimate and benevolent apps get refused. App stores are the ultimate Kafkaesque gatekeepers.

As Broge said, I’d like a filter for free apps, no adds, no in-app purchases… basically filter and sort for everything.

Wondering: what’s your business model ?

f-droid.org

+ immutable builds

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