With Chrome 57, Progressive Web Apps will appear in Android's app drawer, settings, more
The ambitious goal behind Progressive Web Apps is to allow websites to have the same capabilities and features as a native app, but without the initial download. Google has been a heavy backer …
Context & Ripple Effects
By Chrome 57, Google is completing the argument it started earlier: a developer had already shown in 2016 that PWAs were indistinguishable from native apps on Android but not on iOS because of WebKit limits. Surfacing them in the app drawer and system settings removes the last visible tell on Android — an installed website now looks like any other app.
The move matters because it turns the browser into an app-distribution channel that bypasses the store entirely, a direction Google extended with PWA support in Chrome OS 67 and that Microsoft later joined by collaborating with Google to get PWAs into the Play Store.
First-order effects
- Android users get installed web apps listed alongside native apps in the app drawer and settings, eliminating the download step for sites built as PWAs.
Second-order effects
- Apple's WebKit constraints become a competitive gap: developers targeting both platforms can ship full-capability apps on Android while iOS users still need the App Store version.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds toward the later Chrome OS and Play Store integrations, app distribution splits between store-gated binaries and browser-installed web apps, weakening the store's role as the sole gateway to the home screen.
The trend: Mobile platforms are progressively erasing the boundary between web and native apps, with each OS vendor deciding how far its rendering engine will allow the web to reach into system surfaces.