Apps are generally more optimised for phones, and thus work a little bit better (with the exception of www.wefwef.app). But if you like the website, you don't have to use apps.

It's probably just that the majority of users here are here because their Reddit app stopped working yesterday! So they're used to a certain app and are looking to fill that hole

Apps have a few advantages not the least of which are Push notifications, individualised UIs, additional functionality like swipe to upvote etc. Webapps are ok, native Applications in General just have greater flexibility and access to more features of your Smartphone.

The biggest annoyance for me is hitting the back button in my browser as it doesn't remember how far down I scrolled on the page.

There are lots of other little convenience things but that's what prompted me to download an app.

You're not missing anything by not using apps, as other people said, many people came here because reddit apps stopped working and they're looking for replacements.

I never used apps on reddit, old.reddit on desktop was by far the best experience for me, I don't intend to use apps on lemmy either.

Nothing wrong at all with using a browser to view. Lemmy. People just like an app because it can better organize the site, posts, and comments. It really comes down to what you find most efficient and visually appealing.

Nothing really. The mobile app is mainly to browse on the phone when not in front of the computer. I guess you can browse it in a phone's browser but it's more convenient, at least for me, to use an app.

I found it would constantly jump to the top when reading/scrolling as new content was added, so I found various apps to be a much better experience. I guess that's what happens with such a jump in new lemmings coming online!

I understand the scrolling/jumping problem was supposed to be addressed in 0.18.1, which is great!

Who said there's something wrong using a browser?

nothing wrong my guy. it just that apps feel more fluid and smooth than web apps on mobile. wefwef is web based but it feels great to use.

I downloaded Connect for Lemmy as I'd seen others recommend it. I suppose I was drawn to using an app out of instinct rather than need. I'm waiting for Sync for Lemmy and can't be bothered to try out a bunch of other apps before then.

Am I missing out on something by not using an app?

Right now you are not missing out on anything. Infact most apps are not fully functional yet.

First of all hey and welcome to lemmy^^ As some people already stated, there's a big "which app to use" wave because of the whole "Reddit shut down 3rd party apps" and since lemmy is growing pretty fast a lot of apps are popping up. You don't have to use them but for my experience, it's less clunky and feels smoother than any website. On Desktop I still prefer to website.

Nothing wrong with browsing how you like, but apps are usually more accessible for mobile.

My biggest gripe using the browser was the constant auto-refresh. I’m using wefwef which has better functionality and looks way nicer, feels more like a ‘Reddit’ experience.

I'm firmly a desktop user here, I'm old-fashioned, I don't like using my phone, I'd rather be doing just about anything else than reading and typing on a phone screen. But each to their own!

If someone wants to make a desktop app I'd be interested (there never was one for Reddit), but the browser experience is just fine - especially with version 0.18 it's starting to feel polished.

How else can I meme while pooping?

I hope with a smaller community you feel more able to start / contribute to quality conversations. You add value here. Reddit was easy to feel like your comments didn’t matter.

The mobile website for Lemmy is a pain

The only fully functional way to use it for me is via the website, until boost is ready.

I prefer the option to just scroll without accidentally putting myself back at the top of the list.

I'm pretty sure the desktop browser version of 0.17 had a memory leak. My Lemmy tab in firefox would crash when left idle for too long. I trust its been fixed now, but when I first joined, using Jerboa on my phone was a more stable and usable expierence than the browser.

Use Lemmy in whatever form you find most enjoyable. Web browsers are perfectly fine if you prefer it.

I started using Lemmy in a mobile browser, but it isn’t optimized for it. Feels clunky and the auto reload of new posts made it close to unusable. Coming back from a post to the feed always had me searching for where I was last. Also the experience in these mobile apps is more optimized.

If the browser version works for you, that's perfect. There's no need to test out all the apps that are currently flying around.

To be honest from what you said I would advise against checking out the apps right now because all of them lack some features and will have some annoying bugs.

There's a few apps on the way that promise to be really good, but that's still a long way from stable release. If you wanna use them when they are useable, you should check the apps out at the end of the year, because that's when a few more major things are figured out and the apps will be far more stable.

So why are ppl talking about the apps so much? All personal preference. Some are only using lemmy on their phones and with that in mind it's important to know how to do that. But if that doesn't phase you, that's totally fine.

Hope you're enjoying your time and happy lurking :)

Edit: I hate grammar