Assessing the Impact of Service Workers on the Energy Efficiency of Progressive Web Apps

Abstract

Abstract-Context. Mobile web apps represent a large share of the Internet today. However, they still lag behind native apps in terms of user experience. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are a new technology introduced by Google that aims at bridging this gap, with a set of APIs known as service workers at its core. Goal. In this paper, we present an empirical study that evaluates the impact of service workers on the energy efficiency of PWAs, when operating in different network conditions on two different generations of mobile devices. Method. We designed an empirical experiment with two main factors: the use of service workers and the type of network available (2G or WiFi). We performed the experiment by running a total of 7 PWAs on two devices (an LG G2 and a Nexus 6P) that we evaluated as blocking factor. Our response variable is the energy consumption of the devices. Results. Our results show that service workers do not have a significant impact over the energy consumption of the two devices, regardless of the network conditions. Also, no interaction was detected between the two factors. However, some patterns in the data show different behaviors among PWAs. Conclusions. This paper represents a first empirical investigation on PWAs. Our results show that the PWA and service workers technology is promising in terms of energy efficiency.

Progressive Web Apps: the Definite Approach to Cross-Platform Development?

“…When comparing a PWA to a regular native or crossplatform mobile app, one of the main characteristics and benefits of the PWA is the minimal footprint it leaves on a user's phone [20], [21], [11]. Examples of this are provided in Section 3.4 using the Twitter Lite and Indian ride-sharing app OLA as cases.…”

“…The academic contributions identified are few in number. Malavolta et al [21] makes an interesting contribution discussing energy efficiency of Progressive Web Apps, and the energy impact of Service Workers. Their research includes measuring energy consumption using different devices and scenarios.…”

“…Their research includes measuring energy consumption using different devices and scenarios. For further research, we propose drawing from the results of both [21] and Ciman and Gaggi' research [40] on energy consumption of crossplatform app development frameworks and approaches.…”

“…This might be achieved without a (profound) performance penalty [19] but with a dramatic decrease in app size [20], [21]. Due to their novelty, scientific coverage is low [11].…”

“…Due to their novelty, scientific coverage is low [11]. Moreover, so far PWAs have been mainly evaluated in the realm of Android [21], [11]. With this research paper, we set out to narrow the gap between scientific assessment and industry adoption 1 .…”