

Mobile trends, web and native - rnyman
http://www.slideshare.net/robnyman/mobile-trends-web-native

======
empressplay
This doesn't really say much about sectors, though. Sure, lots of people are
creating apps that are HTML5 wrappers, but what do these apps actually do? Are
they just wrappers around websites? Do they preform any serious functions?

Obviously, 95% of graphics- or CPU-intensive apps (eg. games, graphics
utilities) are going to be native, but this isn't implied in the slide deck --
indeed it almost suggests (somewhat disingenuously) that the "trend" toward
non-native includes games, which is silly.

~~~
rnyman
The slide deck touches on sectors, in the sense of Consumer, Professionals and
Enterprise (but no what's games etc). It would be interesting to have numbers
for, say, number of how many apps are made through PhoneGap and what they do.
With games, though, there's is a strong evolution in the direction of other
alternatives than native: through asm.js, Unity engine and more:
[https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2014/03/18/gdc-2014-mozilla-
an...](https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2014/03/18/gdc-2014-mozilla-and-partners-
prove-the-web-is-the-platform-for-gaming/)

~~~
empressplay
This depends on how you define "native" \-- asm.js code is run-time compiled
to assembler (I'm assuming that's where the name comes from) so is running
"natively", as if you shipped your C++ application with the source code and a
compiler, and compiled and ran it when the user opened the app.

The Unity engine has 98% of its hardware-intensive functionality compiled
natively on the device, with only a small percentage of the remainder being
interpreted code. Once again, it's hard not to call such an app "native" since
there's no interpreter layer between the instructions and the bare metal of
the device.

I worry that by suggesting these examples are "non-native" you're placing them
on the same bar as HTML5 / JavaScript which is largely interpreted. I think a
distinction needs to be made between languages/engines whose code is largely
native and / or compiled at runtime, and languages / engines whose code is
largely interpreted while running. There's huge performance implications
between these two categories.

~~~
rnyman
In general, for what asm,js covers, and what it doesn't, it's probably best to
look at [http://asmjs.org/faq.html](http://asmjs.org/faq.html)

With Unity and the Epic Unreal Engine, the goal is to be able to build games
that will be able to run anywhere in a web/WebGL context:
[https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2013/03/27/mozilla-is-
unlockin...](https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2013/03/27/mozilla-is-unlocking-
the-power-of-the-web-as-a-platform-for-gaming/)

I believe it's also about finding ways to make interpreted code much more
optimized as well. We also fairly recently had a blog post about asm.js and
where it's going: [https://hacks.mozilla.org/2014/05/asm-js-performance-
improve...](https://hacks.mozilla.org/2014/05/asm-js-performance-improvements-
in-the-latest-version-of-firefox-make-games-fly/)

------
pkorzeniewski
_The more tools a developer uses, the more money they make_

What? This must be the most obscure factor of a success I've ever heard...

~~~
wzsddtc
I agree as well. This is one of those correlation != causation cases.

~~~
skrebbel
The slides don't imply causation though.

The way I understood it, it's an interesting observation that might lead you
to wonder _what then_ is the cause: something that causes both profit and tool
use.

------
spindritf
Wow, is Pandora popular: 69 million unique US users in June 2014.[1] I thought
they would be getting hammered by Spotify, Beats and other newcomers.

[1] [http://qz.com/253527/these-are-the-25-most-popular-mobile-
ap...](http://qz.com/253527/these-are-the-25-most-popular-mobile-apps-in-
america/)

~~~
josefresco
Too bad streaming music has such razor thin margins. "The Music industry"
basically allows Pandora to live, but just barely. Looks like that industry
will be a loss leader for other more profitable businesses.

------
seren
I know nothing about mobile development, but I am surprised that 26% of app
are considered C/C++ (and it does not include Objective-C). Is it only
referring to game engine like Unity ?

~~~
rnyman
[creator of the slide deck] As empressplay mentioned, there could be specific
needs that warrants that. Those numbers are from a Vision Mobile survey and
its replies: [http://www.developereconomics.com/reports/developer-
economic...](http://www.developereconomics.com/reports/developer-
economics-q3-2014/)

~~~
aikah
Do you have a video/talk with the slides? because it feels a bit like a movie
without the sound when one only sees the slides.

~~~
rnyman
Unfortunately not, it wasn't filmed. And I agree, slide decks need the
presentation to go with them. With numbers, there's a lot up to you to draw
conclusions.

------
WoodenChair
It's quite misleading to have a slide showing Worldwide market share by
platform with iOS at 12% and then have the following slides show US statistics
(where iOS is at 42% ([http://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/05/apple-comscore-
july-numb...](http://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/05/apple-comscore-july-
numbers/) )). IMHO the presenter should've stuck to worldwide stats or US
stats throughout.

~~~
rnyman
[Presenter here] Not sure how it would be misleading when the region is
clearly stated in respective slides and in the linked resources. Naturally
it's interesting to talk both about global trends and more local ones (like in
the US).

That said, for obvious reasons, most research is being done in the US. I'd
love to see more surveys and studies target more markets and globally.

~~~
WoodenChair
Well it's presented as a trends piece, and unless I read the fine print, it's
not clear if I'm being presented with US trends or worldwide trends and that
changes from slide to slide... Perhaps you made it abundantly clear in the
video/in-person, but I think it's a valid point not to have to read the
asterisk, and instead just expect things to be consistent.

With that said, I enjoyed the slides.

~~~
rnyman
I hope it was clear in person/context, and I also tried to keep it clear in
every slide (agree that reading the fine print shouldn't be necessary).

And thanks, glad you liked the slides!

------
aikah
What are you holding on the first slide?what model(I get it's a "portable
phone").

~~~
rnyman
Can't remember the specific model, but it was a Motorola NMT red something -
probably from late 80s/early 90s.

