My 15 year old daughter asked recently me what I say to those who believe apps are a step backwards in evolution. I went silent for a second. How do you make this perfectly clear even to a 15 year old?

I said to her.

Those who say that apps are a step backwards use a type of philosophical reasoning. Instead of acknowledging reality, what people like you and me actually do, they argue how things ought to be. The fact is that most users of app-phones like to buy, download and use apps. It can be an inspiring and fun exercise to discuss things on a philosophical level, but whatever conclusion we may arrive to does not change reality.

To entertain the discussion, I said to her, they are right in that the web is a great vehicle for functionality and information. I doubt anyone would argue the contrary. The web enables immediate and instantaneous feature updates, and has an unparalleled reach across geographies and devices. The web beats any App Store on immediacy and reach. Even the app-phones enable better use of the web than any other mobile devices have done before them.

However, the app holds three critical benefits over the web and it will take many years before the web can address these benefits.

  • User experience. Apps are substantially easier to design to give a superior user experience. It’s not a coincidence that the best looking features on app-phones are apps and not web pages.
  • The App Store itself. Just as in real life, we like to go the store, or mall, to buy stuff. We know where to go, and there is no need to drive around randomly to find what we need. The web is that random.
  • Money. This is the most important benefit. The app ecosystem includes the ability to easily and globally buy and sell apps at very low cost. With just a tap, we can buy an app for less than a dollar. The web has had twenty years to figure this out, but is still nowhere near to enable a global one-tap-marketplace like this.

To add another philosophical dimension to the discussion, just for fun. What if the web is just a step in the app’s evolution? I remember the issues client-server brought along related to keeping applications updated. Distribution was a mess, and so was the shared components on the PCs. The web solved all that. But what now, when we have an app distribution mechanism that actually solves the client-server problems? Is the web as a platform for transactional functionality soon gone? What if the web just was a temporary stepping stone? I don’t think so, but it is an interesting thought, is it not?

I concluded my answer to my daughter in saying that the discussion is more polarized than it has reason to. We do both. I’ve seen her surf web pages on her app-phone, and I do too. In fact, most app-phone users use the web browser often. And I have seen all the apps she uses, and I showed her some of my favorite apps. We do both. We use both apps and the web.

I said, the discussion is philosophical and inspiring, but in reality the app market has just been born and will grow up to be a great sibling to the web. We will continue to use the web, and we will continue to download, buy and use apps. Perhaps we will at some time look back at this discussion and smile at ourselves.

Then I smiled at her and she smiled at me, and we went out for a walk with our dog.