I’ve happily been using Patreon for years and didn’t even know an app existed. Has the world entirely forgotten about websites?

> Has the world entirely forgotten about websites?

Perhaps, if only the segment of the population forced to use a browser that didn't support PWAs for over a decade. I can see why they would forget about websites over a long enough period of time.

Native apps are better than websites on mobile. I know you know this.

And whose fault is that? Apple's!

Hell, Jobs originally wanted there to be no iPhone SDK, and for everyone to create webapps. Man, that would have been a better world. Initially it would have sucked, but the mobile web platform would have improved so much faster, and APIs for doing native-y things would have been complete and useful 15 years ago.

What do you do on Patreon that only a application could do, and not a website?

I subscribe to a bunch of Patreons, and most of them are videos (which I can view on a website) or they're downloadable assets I use my PC for accessing anyways, wouldn't make sense on mobile no matter app or website.

For what? Clicking a “pay this person $5 a month” button? Maybe commenting on a post or watching a video? I don’t see how the platform could affect that in any significant way.

Any sort of audio/video control for sure, which is a substantial portion of patreon content. Also, if you want to support offline content, it's nearly impossible to do it in a browser.

What’s wrong with the native html <video> tag? Or <audio>? I use those for everything and i’ve never been unable to control media.

The app is better for viewing the content you paid for. Patreon is not just for subscribing to creators. They also deliver content. This isn't hard to understand.

What does the app do that <video> <img> and <audio> cannot?