6 ms·

Amazon isn't going to care about the size of the app if consumers don't care. And the majority don't probably even realize.

jessriedel 5y ago
But if 10% or even just 1% of users do care, it's absolutely worth it for Amazon. That's the point.
- thrdbndndn 5y ago
  I doubt even 0.1% users care.
- zdragnar 5y ago
  Will that 1% stop buying from Amazon, or will they just use the website instead? Gut instinct (and personal experience) says they're not really losing anything here.
  - PaulHoule 5y ago
    If I had a choice between an app and a web site the web site almost always wins. ("app" rhymes with "crap")
  - jessriedel 5y ago
    Yes, I think people absolutely will buy less from Amazon if the mobile experience is just a bit slower or more annoying. We know from both other companies and Amazon's behavior that reducing friction has substantial impact on amount purchased.
- IgorPartola 5y ago
  Will you actually not buy things from Amazon due to their app size? If the answer is that you’ll continue spending money with them, you don’t care.
  - jessriedel 5y ago
    I absolutely have given up on trying to buy something from them because their mobile app crashed, which is the kind of thing that could be due to them mindlessly lashing together a bunch of app frameworks rather than building something streamlines. I've also given up when trying to do something really simple like set precise price filters that are bafflingly not available on mobile.
    - IgorPartola 5y ago
      Crashes are not what we are talking about here.
      - jessriedel 5y ago
        My comment that started the sub-thread you are replying to specifically generalized the question, and I did so because I think app size, stability, and general well-built-ness are tightly connected. > I get why smaller companies use generic janky frameworks to throw up an app quickly and keep maintenance costs down. But why doesn't Amazon have the most streamlined and elegant app on the planet? They have the resources, expertise, and scale for it to make sense to invest heavily. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30613893#30614531 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30613893#30614531 Another way to say this: the root reason for app bloat is something that causes general app badness, so the question "Why is the app so bloated?" is not well explained by your implied answer "Because users do not reduce purchases on account of app size".
        IgorPartola 5y ago
        Fair. And for what it’s worth I would very much like for the app stores to penalize apps that are bloated. Institute a 20MB limit on the app size unless it’s a paid app or has specifically applied for a large app permission and justified why it needs more storage. That would drive developers away from bloat. But I think large apps and apps that crash frequently is correlated but not strongly. I have never seen Amazon crash. I have seen 4MB apps crash. Bloat by itself just means I have to buy a more expensive phone to fit everything I want, which sucks but isn’t the end of the world.
mibollma 5y ago
I use the Amazon app regularly and my phone has enough storage to fit the app more that 600 times. It's not a particularly expensive phone either. Given that I'm not sure why I should care as long as it works. As a dev I agree it's technically interesting to find out why, as a user I think it just doesn't matter.
- ipaddr 5y ago
  You have over 100 gig of storage space free on your 'old' phone? I just upgraded a year ago to 32 total gigs. I can see why jumbo app wouldn't affect you. I've got 7t on my desktop. Would you mind if chrome automatically updated to 1t. It's not a new computer pre-owned 2015
  - oblio 5y ago
    I don't know your exact context, but a ~$200 phone from Samsung comes with 64GB of storage... https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_a32_5g-10648.php https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_a32_5g-10648.php
    - ipaddr 5y ago
      You still can't fit 600 Amazon apps. You would need over 100 gigs.
      - oblio 5y ago
        Are we doing reductio an absurdum here? Or just trying to figure out how we can do "smartphone death by a 1000 Amazon apps"? :-))
  - mibollma 5y ago
    I have a Realme GT Neo2 which comes with 128gig at about 330€. Of course if it occupies a significant portion, it would be an issue. On the other hand when I look at the kind of updates that Steam and Playstation are pulling, 200mb feels like nothing.

jessriedel 5y ago

But if 10% or even just 1% of users do care, it's absolutely worth it for Amazon. That's the point.

thrdbndndn 5y ago
I doubt even 0.1% users care.
zdragnar 5y ago
Will that 1% stop buying from Amazon, or will they just use the website instead? Gut instinct (and personal experience) says they're not really losing anything here.
- PaulHoule 5y ago
  If I had a choice between an app and a web site the web site almost always wins. ("app" rhymes with "crap")
- jessriedel 5y ago
  Yes, I think people absolutely will buy less from Amazon if the mobile experience is just a bit slower or more annoying. We know from both other companies and Amazon's behavior that reducing friction has substantial impact on amount purchased.
IgorPartola 5y ago
Will you actually not buy things from Amazon due to their app size? If the answer is that you’ll continue spending money with them, you don’t care.
- jessriedel 5y ago
  I absolutely have given up on trying to buy something from them because their mobile app crashed, which is the kind of thing that could be due to them mindlessly lashing together a bunch of app frameworks rather than building something streamlines. I've also given up when trying to do something really simple like set precise price filters that are bafflingly not available on mobile.
  - IgorPartola 5y ago
    Crashes are not what we are talking about here.
    - jessriedel 5y ago
      My comment that started the sub-thread you are replying to specifically generalized the question, and I did so because I think app size, stability, and general well-built-ness are tightly connected. > I get why smaller companies use generic janky frameworks to throw up an app quickly and keep maintenance costs down. But why doesn't Amazon have the most streamlined and elegant app on the planet? They have the resources, expertise, and scale for it to make sense to invest heavily. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30613893#30614531 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30613893#30614531 Another way to say this: the root reason for app bloat is something that causes general app badness, so the question "Why is the app so bloated?" is not well explained by your implied answer "Because users do not reduce purchases on account of app size".
      - IgorPartola 5y ago
        Fair. And for what it’s worth I would very much like for the app stores to penalize apps that are bloated. Institute a 20MB limit on the app size unless it’s a paid app or has specifically applied for a large app permission and justified why it needs more storage. That would drive developers away from bloat. But I think large apps and apps that crash frequently is correlated but not strongly. I have never seen Amazon crash. I have seen 4MB apps crash. Bloat by itself just means I have to buy a more expensive phone to fit everything I want, which sucks but isn’t the end of the world.

mibollma 5y ago

I use the Amazon app regularly and my phone has enough storage to fit the app more that 600 times. It's not a particularly expensive phone either. Given that I'm not sure why I should care as long as it works. As a dev I agree it's technically interesting to find out why, as a user I think it just doesn't matter.

ipaddr 5y ago
You have over 100 gig of storage space free on your 'old' phone? I just upgraded a year ago to 32 total gigs. I can see why jumbo app wouldn't affect you. I've got 7t on my desktop. Would you mind if chrome automatically updated to 1t. It's not a new computer pre-owned 2015
- oblio 5y ago
  I don't know your exact context, but a ~$200 phone from Samsung comes with 64GB of storage... https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_a32_5g-10648.php https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_a32_5g-10648.php
  - ipaddr 5y ago
    You still can't fit 600 Amazon apps. You would need over 100 gigs.
    - oblio 5y ago
      Are we doing reductio an absurdum here? Or just trying to figure out how we can do "smartphone death by a 1000 Amazon apps"? :-))
- mibollma 5y ago
  I have a Realme GT Neo2 which comes with 128gig at about 330€. Of course if it occupies a significant portion, it would be an issue. On the other hand when I look at the kind of updates that Steam and Playstation are pulling, 200mb feels like nothing.