Apps are what make your mobile device useful – except when they up too much storage space, or even too much of your attention. Can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em, eh?
Appscope makes it easy to achieve a middle ground of sorts: it’s a store for Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) that work in your browser, requiring no installation and offering a native experience so it’s almost impossible to tell you’re actually just using a website.
let’s take a closer look at Appscope. It’s essentially a handy directory of PWAs that are grouped into categories, and it’s designed to resemble an app store replete with short descriptions, screenshots, and some technical info for its listings.
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All you need to do is head to appsco.pe in your mobile browser, rifle through the currently short list of apps available, and launch them from their description pages.
You’ll find social networks like Instagram and Twitter, tools for managing your time and shrinking image files, simple games, and educational resources to help you improve your vocabulary and learn about the natural world, and a board to track the prices of your preferred cryptocurrencies. If you like the PWA enough to want to use it again, you can add a shortcut to your home screen for easy access later on.
Why use PWAs over native apps? For one thing, they don’t take up any room on your device – that’s handy if you’re low on storage or are using an older model. Native apps not only take up space when you install them, but they also store data locally, which can eat into your limited storage.
You might also want to avoid installing apps if you find yourself using them too much. I have that problem with Instagram; even though I try to limit myself to opening only a couple of times a day, I end up on the app between 10 and 20 times daily on average. Using the PWA instead of the easily accessible native app – and doing so only by navigating through Appscope – could help me curb my addiction.
Appscope itself is a PWA, so you don’t need to install it either. It’s far and away the best looking list of PWAs out there – but it’d be nice to see its selection grow over time.
Give it a go on your Android or iOS device by visiting appsco.pe in your mobile browser.
Via Android Police
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