PWA on windows phone

[Drael646464]

If PWAs will be wrapped as appx files, and according to some places I've read, at least some PWA services have been written for edge on WM - will you be able to install and run these appx's on windows mobile (even if you can't actually see them on the store on your phone)?

IE, could you just download the appx once they become available, flip it over to your phone, and run it on your WM with some functionality?

 

[realwarder]

It depends on Edge on WM10. PWA requires service workers which were not on WM10. Microsoft could in theory push an update to Edge out to enable it but Dan @ WC suggested they likely wouldn't.

They could also include an alternative embedded browser component in the APPX as an alternative portable engine to Edge in the auto-wrapped PWA appx's as a workaround. All things are possible. But the answer is only time will tell.

 

[fatclue_98]

As far as I know, Edge on mobile doesn't support notifications. Until this happens, PWAs aren't worthwhile to have on Windows phones. Humbly opining of course.

 

[Drael646464]

If you go to "about:flags" you appear to be able to switch on service workers and notifications even on WM (along with a cluster of seemingly related settings)

*edit: these flags don't currently work for notifications on mobile or desktop. Whether they end up working on mobile, or the appx hybrid works on mobile, after the update (ie whether the desktop edge changes end up going to mobile edge), we'll have to wait and see.

 

[milkyway]

Long time no see, Drael. I wondered about you and what you would say after MS told us "officially" that W10M is dead. You were always so optimistic about the future of it, although me and everyone else here told you otherwise.

 

[Drael646464]

Long time no see, Drael. I wondered about you and what you would say after MS told us "officially" that W10M is dead. You were always so optimistic about the future of it, although me and everyone else here told you otherwise.

Well I've been vindicated on the upcoming device development (the one now referred to as Andromeda with the dual screen design). I was talking about that, long before the rest of the windows news media was (and never talked about a "surface phone".

Probably going to be too expensive for my tastes, but I'd happily take an all touch micro pocket power book with telephony over a regular smart phone as a concept (specially if it could game). Be very interesting to learn about that when it comes out, because it'll be the first example of the new windows core + cshell model of windows.

Let's hope for my wallets sake that when it comes out, it inspires OEM copies that aren't strictly designed for a businessmans budget.

As for old windows mobile, nothings really changed since I purchased it. Well the bugfixes rolled out that made in smoother/more stable. But never got any features since I've owned one, and apps all pretty much the same. I wouldn't say they've announced it "officially" dead, but it's pretty clear now it's on life support, and new efforts are going elsewhere.

That said, apps like edge still seem to be getting updates, even if only via downstream from desktop. There's still small developers writing apps for UWP. It's not like it's becoming unusable, or that this will happen any time soon.

Fortunate for me, as I'd hate to go over to android or ios.
They didn't keep pushing W10M, and they could have. But then they were late with delivery of WoA which would have helped the UWP platform a lot too. More helpful than PWA, which while is definately the future, will take time to bloom.

Honestly that's a disappointment for me. All the hype about WoA, which will be great for the UWP scene (as they run native, and thus faster), and we don't get any surface device, just two third party OEM devices, that are out late. They could have cranked more effort into that one, for the benefits it will bring to their ecosystem while they wait for PWA to fall into place (which will take years to really make a dent)

I do wonder if WM will get UWP PWA hybrids in some fashion, even third party repackaging.