Microsoft and Google are working together again. This time it s about applications for Windows and Android
Android and Windows have long been able to open links in dedicated applications. The problem is that not in all, which is due to cooperation between Microsoft and Google.
From time to time, when we click on a link in a browser on Android or Windows, this will ask us if we want to continue in that browser or we want to open this link in a dedicated application. We can decide whether these types of links will always be opened in applications or only this time, or whether we should always remain in the browser.
However, there is one exception to this rule. We are talking about PWA (Progressive Web Apps), which is a new type of multiplatform applications that are becoming more and more popular in the world of developers. We write about them in more detail in this material, among others. In the context of this text, however, the most important thing is that PWA is installed slightly differently than all other apps - because from a web browser instead of from a typical installer.
This difference means that web browsers are not yet able to send us to a PWA-type app associated with the content. Microsoft wants to change that. And that he is a member of the Chromium project and Google is the main initiator of PWA - he will work on it with his competitor.
PWA like native applications. They will be able to be set as default for given links or activities.
Microsoft wants - as detailed in GitHub - to make Progressive Web Apps even less distinguishable from so-called native applications. At present, due to the nature of PWA, it is not possible to set them as default for given activities. So if you click - for example - a link in the form of an email address, it is not possible for it to be opened automatically in a PWA email program.
Due to the association of PWA with a web browser, Microsoft is proposing changes in Chromium (base for Chrome, Opera, Edge, Vivaldi and Brave browsers), thanks to which it will be possible to create such associations in Windows and Android. In addition, Microsoft suggests that PWAs can be launched at the user's request at system startup, just like any other application.
This is good news. PWA, despite childhood problems like the above, solve many problems for programmers, and as a result also for us - users. They look and work identically on every platform, being able to take advantage of their unique features, do not require updating and need not be offered only by application stores. PWA uses, among others, Flipboard, Uber, Spotify, Telegram, YouTube Music, Instagram, Twitter and Outlook.
Microsoft and Google are working together again. This time it's about applications for Windows and Android
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