Sometimes the open source equivalent is better. SmartTube is a much better app than the official YouTube app for Google TV / Android TV even though there’s just one developer working on it. Even if it didn’t support ad blocking, I’d still use it. Very nice app.
Similarly, pirate TV/movie apps often have a much better user experience than the legit ones. Compare Weyd, Syncler, or Stremio+Torrentio to the Amazon Prime video app for example. At least on Android (phone, tablet, TV), the Amazon app is garbage even though there’s highly paid employees working on it.
In both cases, the people who work on the independent apps usually care about the user experience and use the app day-to-day themselves, rather than being told to do whatever makes the most money for the company. They have no reason to lock you in or otherwise force you to use the app, and instead compete just by having a better app.
Sometimes, the developers also being the users helps, as in your example. Sometimes, it’s a hindrance, where the developer will just create UI that makes sense to them, but not to others.
Sometimes the open source equivalent is better. SmartTube is a much better app than the official YouTube app for Google TV / Android TV even though there’s just one developer working on it. Even if it didn’t support ad blocking, I’d still use it. Very nice app.
Similarly, pirate TV/movie apps often have a much better user experience than the legit ones. Compare Weyd, Syncler, or Stremio+Torrentio to the Amazon Prime video app for example. At least on Android (phone, tablet, TV), the Amazon app is garbage even though there’s highly paid employees working on it.
In both cases, the people who work on the independent apps usually care about the user experience and use the app day-to-day themselves, rather than being told to do whatever makes the most money for the company. They have no reason to lock you in or otherwise force you to use the app, and instead compete just by having a better app.
Sometimes, the developers also being the users helps, as in your example. Sometimes, it’s a hindrance, where the developer will just create UI that makes sense to them, but not to others.