> Using web versions, not apps, is important because companies keep user device statistics and if enough people insist in using web versions, the the web will continue to be at least partially supported by big tech.
It's also frequently just better. If I'm looking for hotels, flights, apartments, restaurants, hiking trails, ect., doing so in a browser allows me to keep dozens of comparable offers open for direct comparison - just by jumping between browser tabs.
Doing the same in the app means endlessly navigating between offers, favorites, and new searches. It's often very obvious that the app was built explicitly to be less powerful.
The main downside to many mobile web sites is the desperate plea to use the app you have to dismiss every time. I feel sorry for the devs who build a great mobile version only to be forced to put a stupid "$SITE is better in the app" banner on it.
There’s also companies which seemed to break their Web experience specifically to drive people into the app. Credit Karma hasn’t worked on a browser on mobile or desktop for me in years. But the app version always works.
I guess it’s my fault for trying to use an Intuit product to begin with when I already know they’re evil.
This is a reason I also like the web is that after the page loads I can just do stuff instead of getting kicked out to have to update the app ... Or even having to re-log in ...
uBlock Origin Lite is available for Safari on mobile, though that's not exactly the same extension. Orion supports standard uBlock Origin on mobile, but then that's not a browser "of note."
What is really stupid is when the app is just a web browser limited to one tab like for Amazon. The web site is better on phones because you can open links in new tabs but you can't in the app even though the app is obviously just displaying the exact same web page.
If a mobile app like that supported tabs AND somehow allowed you to see key things between tabs, you wouldn't even reach for the browser. Crazy how much different that landscape could be if they thought about such a critical use case. My guess is non-power users just look at one offer at a time.
It's also frequently just better. If I'm looking for hotels, flights, apartments, restaurants, hiking trails, ect., doing so in a browser allows me to keep dozens of comparable offers open for direct comparison - just by jumping between browser tabs.
Doing the same in the app means endlessly navigating between offers, favorites, and new searches. It's often very obvious that the app was built explicitly to be less powerful.