# "iT woRKs BeTter in THe aPp!!"

The monkey-punchers at Google never quite seem to finish any of their apps. There's always some useful bit of work left undone, or showstopping bug which remains unfixed, a thousand jagged edges as yet unsolved by the greatest minds of their generation.

I wanted to subscribe to an events calendar. I had a URl. I had my Google™ Pixel® phone running the latest Android© 17 with an updated calendar app. Is it possible to click on a calendar link and add it to my phone?

No.

Here's what [Google has to say about the matter](https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/37100):

![To subscribe to a new calendar, you must use a computer web browser. You can't subscribe to a calendar in the Google Calendar app for Android, iPhone, or iPad.](https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Google-Calendar-Help.webp)

Really?!? I mean, fucking *really*????

This isn't the most complex software engineering task known to humanity. Add a + button. Pop open a text entry field. Validate. Save. Done. I'm sure even the shitty Gemini model can vibe code that in a couple of months, right?

Anyway, I opened calendar.google.com on my phone (using desktop mode), added the calendar, and it magically appeared in the app.

This is just pathetic.

In fairness, this isn't only a Google problem. Many companies want a permanent presence on your homescreen and think you're too thick to use your browser's bookmarks feature. Maybe they're right. Maybe an app *is* the only way to increase the engagement KPI sufficiently so Quinn in the leadership squad can hit their OKRs and get a bonus.

So they build an app. Or, rather, they half-arse it. I've lost count of the number of times I've been told "it's easier if you use our app" only to be unceremoniously punted back to the web when I try to do anything outside of the app's narrow strictures.

I was there in the early days of phone apps. I built stuff for Symbian, BlackBerry, even the bloody Palm Pilot! The central problem with apps has always been that they are hard to update. Every new bit of functionality - or even a new page - needs to be tested on a thousand devices. Once done, it takes an age to distribute to users. The only way to solve that is to have the app dynamically pull in new functionality from a remote resource.

At which point, you've reinvented the Web browser!

Sure, there are some things you can *only* do with an app ([although browsers are catching up](https://developer.chrome.com/blog/serial-over-bluetooth/)), and having an icon on the homescreen is useful (which is [easy for sites to add](https://favicon.io/tutorials/favicon-sizes/)), as is offline functionality (which, again, [is possible on the web](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Service_Worker_API/Using_Service_Workers)).

Oh.

If you want an app, fine. Do it. Just finish the job please!