Progressive Web Apps (PWA) are web apps that use modern web capabilities to deliver an app-like experience to users. These apps meet certain requirements, are deployed to servers, accessible through URLs, and indexed by search engines.
What PWA Can Do Today
Here are some of the highlights of what PWA can do today:
Media capture: PWA can use the camera and microphone of your device to capture photos, videos, and audio.
Geolocation: PWA can get your location and show it on a map or use it for other purposes.
Notifications: PWA can send you notifications, even when the app is not active, to keep you updated or remind you of something.
Contact picker: PWA can access your contacts and let you choose one or more to share information with.
Web share: PWA can invoke the native share mechanism of your device and let you share text, URLs, or files with other apps or people.
Authentication: PWA can enable passwordless authentication through your device's fingerprint reader or an external USB Security Key.
File System: PWA can access the file system of your device and let you open, edit, or save files.
Barcode detection: PWA can detect barcodes and QR codes in images and decode them.
Face detection: PWA can detect faces in images and draw bounding boxes around them.
Vibration: PWA can make your device vibrate in different patterns.
Audio recording: PWA can record audio using the MediaRecorder API and visualize it using the Web Audio API.
Audio: PWA can display controls for media playback on your device's lock screen using the Media Session API.
Background Sync: PWA can defer tasks when it's offline and run them when the network connection is restored using the Background Sync API.
Background Fetch: PWA can download large files in the background, even when the app is not running, using the Background Fetch API.
Capture Handle: PWA can communicate with captured web apps using the Capture Handle API.
Storage: PWA can persist structured data in your browser using the Storage API.
Bluetooth: PWA can connect to Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices and read or write values to them using the Web Bluetooth API.
NFC: PWA can read and write to NFC tags using the Web NFC API.
AR/VR: PWA can place virtual objects in reality using augmented reality (AR) or create immersive experiences using virtual reality (VR).
Payment: PWA can provide a browser-based method to make payments on the web, using a credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, using the Payment Request API.
Wake lock: PWA can prevent your device from dimming or locking the screen when the app needs to keep running using the Screen Wake Lock API.
Orientation: PWA can get information about the physical orientation of your device using the DeviceOrientationEvent.
Motion: PWA can get information about the speed of changes for the position and orientation of your device using the DeviceMotionEvent.
Network info: PWA can get information about the connection of your device and adapt functionality based on network quality using the NetworkInformation API.
Speech synthesis: PWA can provide text-to-speech and read out their text content using the Speech Synthesis API.
Speech recognition: PWA can recognize voice context from an audio input using the Speech Recognition API.
Multi touch: PWA can capture complex touch behaviour using the Touch Events API.
Why PWA Are Awesome
As you can see, PWA can do a lot of things that native apps can do, and sometimes even more. But why should you care about PWA? Here are some of the benefits of PWA for both users and developers:
For users:
PWA are fast, reliable, and engaging. They load quickly, work offline, and provide a smooth and immersive user experience.
PWA are easy to install and update. You don't need to go to the app store, wait for downloads, or deal with permissions. You can just add them to your home screen or desktop with one tap, and they will always be up to date.
PWA are cross-platform and device-agnostic. You can use them on any device, browser, or operating system, and they will adapt to the screen size and capabilities of your device.
PWA are secure and private. They use HTTPS to ensure data integrity and confidentiality, and they only access your device's features with your permission.
For developers:
PWA are easy to build and maintain. You can use the web technologies that you already know and love, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and leverage the power of modern web APIs. You don't need to learn new languages, frameworks, or tools, or deal with different code bases, platforms, or versions.
PWA are cost-effective and scalable. You can reach a large and diverse audience with a single code base, and reduce the development and maintenance costs. You don't need to pay fees or follow rules to publish your app, and you can use the cloud to host and serve your app.
PWA are discoverable and shareable. You can use the web's existing infrastructure, such as search engines, social media, and links, to promote and distribute your app. You don't need to rely on app stores or marketing campaigns to get users to find and install your app.
Conclusion
PWA are the future of web apps. They combine the best of both worlds: the web's reach and flexibility, and the native's performance and functionality. They offer a great user experience and a great developer experience. They are fast, reliable, engaging, easy, cross-platform, secure, private, cost-effective, scalable, discoverable, and shareable. What more can you ask for?
I hope you enjoyed this blog post and learned something new. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave a comment below. Thank you for reading!