HTML5无法取代iOS原生应用的两大理由

作者：Darrell Etherington

根据Bernstein Research公司分析师Toni Sacconaghi Jr的观点，在HTML5的影响下，2015年苹果营业利润增长可能会遭受30%的损失。Forrester Research公司也曾指出，HTML5的出现还将影响苹果通过原生应用中收获的利润。但从以下两个原因可以看出，业内人士不应该低估iOS原生应用的长远吸引力：

ios-html 5(from nexus404.com)

1.原生应用能够突破其局限性

人们之所以认为HTML5将取代iPad和iPhone设备中的原生应用是因为它的网络技术正在赶超iOS软件的功能。虽然这是事实，但是HTML5永远也不可能与原生应用相提并论，应为苹果始终掌握着主要控制权，它可以决定哪些第三方应用软件可以在iOS设备上运行。iOS每一次重大更新都能给开发者带来新的API，而每一代新的硬件也都提供了新的网络连接选项，收音机以及其它硬件功能。举个例子来说，iOS 5便推出了1500款新型API，包括iCloud Storage，Newsstand以及Twitter。

只有苹果能够决定它的软件可以做什么或不能做什么，以及何种硬件可以与之兼容；但是因为HTML5是基于所有浏览器而设置的，所以要求更多的技术妥协。同时，HTML5如果要使用iOS硬件的所用功能也拥有许多局限因素，尽管苹果已经采取了一些改善措施，例如允许Safari使用更多的本地设备内存以及地理定位服务。虽然如此看来好像是HTML5正在迎头赶上本机应用，但是事实上它却永远不可能超越它们，因为苹果的移动技术还在不断进化，并且通过iOS SDK给原生应用开发者提供更多的API选择。

2.原生应用才刚超越移动网页

在智能手机和平板电脑设备中，手机应用刚刚才开始赶超移动网页，其人气正处于高涨阶段。应用商店的出现更是助长了这种趋势，目前尚无迹象表明这种趋势会放缓或者扭转，虽然Vudu（游戏邦注：一种新型电视节目服务），亚马逊以及《金融时报》等公司最近都绕开苹果App Store，创建了HTML5网页应用。

显然，很多公司宁愿选择HTML5而不是苹果的原生应用是因为，基于网页的产品让他们绕过苹果这个中间商，避开苹果营收抽成，直接获取更大的利润，并且能够针对多个平台一次性开发产品。但是从用户体验的角度来看，绝大多数用户可能并不会支持应用大规模向HTML5领域迁移。虽然市场上将会有越来越多HTML5产品，但是原生应用的光芒也不会轻易被掩盖，因为它有稳定的离线访问，特定的界面，可自由访问特定硬件和软件等功能。

我认为在今后几年里，苹果将继续从原生应用中赚取更多利润，HTML5无法对此造成严重影响。

游戏邦注：原文发表于2011年9月13日，所涉事件和数据均以当时为准。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Why HTML5 won’t take the wind out of Apple’s sails

By Darrell Etherington

Apple’s operating profit growth could take a 30 percent hit by 2015, owing to the rise of HTML5, according to Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi Jr. Forrester Research agrees that HTML5 adoption could also affect Apple’s ability to generate revenue from native apps, according to a PCWorld article on Monday. But industry watchers should be wary of underestimating the continued appeal of the native iOS app for two big reasons.

1. The limits of native apps can quickly change

Part of the argument behind the ability of HTML5 to replace native apps on devices like the iPad and iPhone is that the web tech is catching up in terms of features to iOS software. That may be true, but it will likely never actually reach par with native apps, because Apple is in the driver’s seat when it comes to what third-party software can and can’t do on its devices. Every new major iOS update brings new APIs for developers to play with, and each new hardware generation puts new connectivity options, radios and other hardware features at their disposal. For example, iOS 5 introduces 1,500 new APIs for developers to leverage, including access to iCloud Storage, Newsstand and Twitter.

Only Apple determines what its software can and can’t do and what kind of hardware it gets to work with; with HTML5, standards are set based on what all browsers will support, which requires more compromise. Also, HTML5 will necessarily have far more limited access to the full capabilities of iOS hardware, even though Apple has made some improvements on that side of things, like allowing mobile Safari to tap into larger portions of local device memory and geolocation services. But even if it looks like HTML5 is “catching up” to what’s possible with native apps, it will likely never actually match them, as Apple’s mobile tech evolves and it provides more APIs to native developers through the iOS SDK.

2. Apps have only just begun beating the mobile web

Mobile apps have only just recently started to be more popular than mobile websites for Internet access from smartphones and tablet devices. It’s a trend that has been in motion since the advent of app stores, and there’s little indication that it’s slowing or turning around, despite recent efforts by players like Vudu, Amazon and the Financial Times to create HTML5 web apps instead of going through Apple’s App Store.

It’s obvious that companies would prefer HTML5 over native apps, since web-based products would allow them to cut out Apple as a middleman and take in a larger percent of any profits, as well as make it easier for them to develop once for many platforms. But if studies around consumer mobile desires are any indication, the will on the user end of the spectrum just isn’t there to support an HTML5 mass migration. That may change as more HTML5 products come to market, but the advantages of native apps are still things consumers want: dependable offline access, device-specific interfaces and unfettered access to special hardware and software features.

I think Apple is poised to make more, not less, money from apps in the next few years, and I don’t think HTML5 is really in any position to cut into those profits yet.（source:gigaom）