Not so long ago I wrote a post about the advantages to coding a web app over a smartphone app [Want to dip your toe into tech innovation? Forget smartphone app development]. Here I listed the advantages but made the point that there are advantages to transferring your data from your web app to a smartphone app. The data transferred is less due to the app is only downloading raw data, not the user interface. However, considering the hurdles and costs it was a terrible idea for clinicians to start out building a smartphone app. Imagine my surprise when I am scrolling through my news feeds to see that Google has enhanced the web app experience for smartphones [link]. It allows push notifications for the phone and the user can save the web apps onto the home screen. Is there really any need for coding smartphone apps anymore?

Right now yes. This only works for Android phones so if you want the full works of a smartphone app for iPhone users, you will have to still code and submit your app to their app store. However, for a clinician wanting to innovate on a budget of time and money, I wouldn’t recommend investing in smartphone app skills. As mentioned in the previous blog post the advantages to web apps are numerous, and the web app integration will only improve. For now, just focus on developing your python skills [link to why python].