Ask HN: Why do we still use apps?

1 pointsmiguelrochefort3y ago3 comments

Apps are skeuomorphic. They typically represent real-world objects or concepts.

For example, these are all the apps pre-installed on iOS:

- App Store: Software retailer

- Books: Book

- Calculator: Calculator

- Calendar: Calendar

- Camera: Camera

- Clock: Clock

- Compass: Compass

- Contacts: Rolodex

- FaceTime: Face-to-face interaction

- Files: Filing cabinet

- Find My: ?

- Fitness: Workout log

- Flashlight: Flashlight

- Health: Health record

- Home: Home

- iTunes Store: Music retailer

- Mail: Mail

- Maps: Maps

- Measure: Tape measure

- Messages: SMS

- Music: Music player

- News: Newspaper

- Notes: Notebook

- Phone: Telephone

- Photos: Picture

- Podcasts: Radio

- Reminders: To-do list

- Safari: ?

- Settings: Buttons, switches, sliders, knobs

- Shortcuts: ?

- Stocks: Newspaper

- Tips: User guide

- Translate: Bilingual dictionary

- TV: Television

- Voice Memos: Tape recorder

- Wallet: Wallet

Although the one-to-one equivalence between real-world concepts and apps may seem intuitive to those who have experienced the former (older generations), they appear completely arbitrary to those who haven't (newer generations). Keep in mind that most kids have no idea that the save symbol represents a floppy disk.

Unfortunately, such short-sighted design decisions often remain unchallenged. For instance, most people never asked themselves why we ended up with the arguably inferior QWERTY keyboard layout. Likewise, most of us have accepted the arbitrary boundaries we set between apps.

What if this skeuomorphic way of thinking had wider implications than simply facilitating the transition from the analog to the digital world? What if the very idea of apps was the single biggest mistake in the field of software design? How powerful would software be if we directly interacted with data in a general purpose way, rather than being constrained by the limitations of real-world objects in a domain specific way?

3 comments

simonblack3y ago

Why not?

Apps (an abbreviation for the word 'Applications') are merely one subcategory of the stuff called 'Software'. We call that category 'Apps' to distinguish them from the other main category of Software, the 'Operating System'.

The operating system is a specialised piece of software for the use by any other software to interface with all the peripherals included in a machine's hardware. So, software that allows your software 'app' to use the hard drive, or display stuff on the screen, or allow you to type stuff in.

Any task undertaken on a computer involves some sort of application which runs on top of an Operating System. And that's it! There's nothing weird or wonderful about 'apps', they are merely a bunch of 'tasks' for you to do things with.

t-33y ago

"Apps" and "app stores" only exist to facilitate rent-seeking behavior. It's hard to make money when people don't need what you're selling... These walled gardens are not in any way an organic choice, they were foisted on the masses by big tech monopolists.

togaen3y ago

Same reason people pay others to do anything: convenience. Apps are used because most people have neither the desire nor the time to deal with manipulating data directly.

You wanna not use apps? Have fun, no one is stopping you.

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