Re: [manifest] Is prefer_related_applications too simplistic? (#365)

> That doesn't make sense to me... iOS can't run an Android app?

The problem is that the preference between web and non-web is enforced to be the same across operating systems. What if the Android app is preferred over the web app because it provides a better user experience, but the web app has more functionality than a boilerplate Windows Phone app which was only created to have a presence in the Windows Phone Store?

>  If, as a developer, you list a native app, then obviously it's preferred, or at least, equivalent (at least, I don't know of any instance where a web app is preferred over a native app - can anyone think of any?). 

That's a terrible assumption to make, there are plenty of platform-specific apps created which are a poor relative of a fully functional web app that has existed for longer, especially in the long tail. The reality is that small developers can't always afford to maintain functionally equivalent platform-specific apps on all operating systems. I don't think a boolean flag has enough fidelity to represent that situation. It also depends a lot on how this feature is implemented on each user agent and how much choice is given to the user vs. made for them.

---
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub:
https://github.com/w3c/manifest/issues/365#issuecomment-95616539