3,774 apps. Getting closer to 400 every day.

Personally, I'd like to figure out how many of those apps are just redirects to existing websites (like the official Gmail app), and how many are truly "apps" (like the NY Times, or USA Today... yes, they redirect to a URL, but they are very much NOT functioning like the traditional website)

Actually, a handful of apps in the store (mainly calculators [i.e. "Calculator", Calculatoure, 5calc], file sharing services [e.g. Fiabee], and text editors [i.e. Write Space, SourceKit]) are packaged apps and actually install inside Chrome (and I'm sure there are more paid apps that install as extensions than free apps).

I've got a few of those (a calculator, and Gmail checker). But it is just a handful.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that to count as a "web app" it should be more than an overglorified bookmark.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Actually, those apps that I listed before install inside Chrome but aren't extensions per se. They are full-blown apps, but instead of being little more than a glorified bookmark they install their Web pages inside Chrome (because they're packaged into the very .crx file that installs the manifest and their local paths are also encoded into the manifest) and also launch from the New Tab page like traditional hosted apps.

To get an understanding of this, you need to know how the apps work. They really are manifest files (manifest.json) packaged into .crx files. The manifest files provide the metadata needed to control the apps and set preferences. Those same manifest files can also be used to configure local paths to local HTML files, and that's where packaged apps come in. Not only do they install the manifest locally, but they also install all their Web pages locally, meaning they can even run offline.

Chrome Web Store App Count at 4,440

Closing this thread.