this post was submitted on 18 Jul 2023
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Just out of curiosity, why exactly is it a step back? I've heard this comment several times but, having only used 1Password 8 (which I quite like), I have nothing to compare it to.
Because it’s now an Electron app on macOS and — in my personal view — Electron apps suck. Much prefer native apps.
Functionality-wise it’s the same, but just doesn’t feel as nice to use, if that makes sense.
Bitwarden’s desktop app is also electron, just a heads up
Good to know, thanks!
If it helps, I've been using Bitwarden since 2019 and never installed the desktop app. Can't imagine what you'd need it for.
Fair enough, to each their own. I understand why electron apps might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I think some really do work very well (VSCode is the standout).
Now you may have me there. Visual Studio Code is certainly an exception, I’d be willing to admit.
What's the problem with Electron apps?
It’s personal preference of course. This article may explain it better than I ever could (might not be the best source, was just a quick DDG search).
I've never understood those problems. I'm not saying they don't exist, I haven't investigated it or anything lol, but I don't see why individual non-electron programs have less overhead than individual electron programs when the argument is that multiple would-be electron apps could share one browser instance because multiple non-electron apps also don't share anything.
Also I don't see how not using a chromium base would make programs better about having massive 1 GB directories of various temp files.
What am I missing? Because clearly those problems exist.
I can’t say I fully understand the ins and outs of it because, like you, I’ve never looked into it in any great detail.
I’ve used VS Code for a while and I remember seeing a post on Reddit about how good it is “for an Electron app”, which raised my interest. I then saw more and more complaints about Electron apps, mainly around how they consume a lot of resource and ultimately crash peoples machines, resulting in data loss.
Don’t get me wrong, I see the benefits of Electron apps — they’re easy to deploy across multiple OSes which makes things a lot easier for developers. But I guess as a macOS user, I do love a native app for its look and feel and user experience. Not knocking that on all Electron apps, it’s just a preference.