45 // Native apps

With Muse for Mac on the horizon, the team convenes to discuss the merits of native apps versus web technologies like Electron. Discussion points include the conflict between brand identity and apps that feel true to the OS; “proudly native” apps like Sketch and Nova; and the lost art of designing using system components. Plus: the business case for and against building native apps, and why great native apps tend to come from smaller companies. Discuss this episode in the Muse community Follow @MuseAppHQ on Twitter Show notes The road to Muse 2 Electron DMG file URL widgets GTK /usr the JVM and write once, run anywhere Java servlet, Flash React Native, Cordova transpiler browser quirks siren’s song Audacity Flutter Things principle of least surprise Twitter on iOS non-native share sheet Material Design Google’s iOS apps retiring custom widgets WeChat Microsoft antitrust case in the late 90s how the web broke Microsoft’s monopoly Steve Jobs visiting Xerox PARC Alto, Lisa, Macintosh Metamuse episode with Weiwei Xu V for Wikipedia Twitter’s custom typeface, Chirp ScreenFlow, Sketch, Nova Sketch’s proud-to-be-native article WebAssembly in Figma Sublime Text Finda’s 16ms goal Microsoft CEO deemphasizing the Windows business Obsidian, Superhuman, Linear 1Password’s switch to Electron and subsequent outcry video games and colorblind mode Game Maker’s Toolkit — Designing for Disability