It is a limitation of a PWA. A native app (wrapper) will likely be coming though, and a custom Capacitor plugin could theoretically interface with the native API to switch out icons. Theoretically. No promises though :)
Quoting this comment by the dev
I don’t understand why some users really want a native app? A webapp is better in almost everyway. You don’t need to build and maintain multiple pieces of software, it just works across multiple devices and configurations. You don’t have to install and give permissions to yet another piece of software on your device, creating yet another vulnerability. It’s like asking for betamax when DVDs exist. What’s a benefit of doing so, just that in comes up in the app store when searching?
With a capacitor app it can be both a PWA and a native app from the same code base. This wouldn’t take away, only add possible functionality for those who choose to install it natively.
There’s a lot of native functionality that a PWA cannot access, like app icon changing, certain gestures that Apollo took advantage of (tapping on the top to scroll to the top, for one), and some other things that have been requested.
Well… Part of that is just that web apps have much worse efficiency and performance compared to native apps. That’s not to say their performance and efficiency is bad, but a native app will beat a web app everytime. The DOM and JavaScript are just not great models in terms of efficiency and performance.
Problematic
I get lots of random freezes, actions not registering, etc
Doesn’t make it unuseable, but it’s not a great experience
I think it’s acceptable, though I am working on my own … for now experimental … Lemmy client in C++/Qt/QML … maybe eventually for desktop and mobile devices alike :)
Many people have not heard of web apps, they do not know how to find or install web apps.
Most of them are more familiar with the app stores. They are more comfortable using what they are familiar with. They might have been using the app store since the original Angry Bird was released.
It is good to have choices.
The user experience is nicer as a native app, if done right. With a PWA, you have to deal with anything crappy that the browser inflicts on you, and the developer largely can’t do anything about it. For example, Chrome sometimes just crashes or freezes entirely on me, which means Voyager can too.
See elsewhere in this thread for examples of little things that stem solely from being a PWA .
Don’t get me wrong, I think Voyager is great for a PWA and it probably gets a lot of value out of being a PWA making it easier for people to contribute. But it’s just not as good as native for me.
Most native apps are still JS in an app. Memmy is React for instance. So WefWef would be offered as both.
Some functions are not open to PwA such as tap top of the screen to go back to the top, icon swapping, updates without deleting and re-installing (which deletes all you preferences) and some other iOS API functions.
