Sandstorm is basically this. Requires a bit of setup at the start, but afterwards installing apps is like installing phone apps, the apps and Sandstorm itself update automatically, etc.
For example, here's a Rocket.Chat instance I just spun up with a few clicks: https://sandstorm.terracrypt.net/shared/uaFeexA3f3mlU77m6nvJ...
https://github.com/sandstorm-io/sandstorm/blob/master/CHANGE...
A few of the apps get regular updates, but admittedly a lot of them have gone stale. Sandstorm's security model makes it so that this isn't a security risk in the way it would be on other platforms, but it's certainly disappointing if you're looking for the latest versions of apps.
* As trivial to set up as a smartphone.
* Visually appealing.
* Handles backup and restoration of user data seamlessly.
* Has an app store where you can grab docker images for apps like mattermost and handles upgrades seamlessly.
There's a lot of solutions out there but theyre all a bit ratty or require technical knowhow or both.
I kind of wish mozilla went down this route rather than trying to reinvent the smartphone.
It'd be nice to see it become as safe and easy to run an infrastructure service (like Mattermost) as it is to manage and update apps on a phone.
We're not too far off from that; small computers like the Raspberry Pi - or even smartphones themselves - could act as servers, and then container images could be used to package and distribute application updates.
Persistent data management becomes an issue at some point.. but that's already true for on-device chat messages. Perhaps SyncThing or similar tools could help there.