This is something I feel quite strongly about, and I too favour PWAs. I think native apps have their place for now, as a few key APIs are not fully exposed via browsers yet, but the API landscape continues to improve. Apple has even started dev on service workers for Safari, and their IndexedDB implementation is not as buggy as it used to be.
If I'm honest, apps never really made sense to me; they seem to be part of an intrinsically closed eco-system, which feels completely at odds with the initial premise of the internet, and dare I say, computing in general. If you have an Apple product, you must go to the App Store, if you have an Android product, then it's the Play Store etc. The feeling of openness that I became accustomed to (probably from a time before "apps") seems to have taken a step backward with mobile apps, and replaced with an endless need for vendor lock in. It's great for business, but as a user, it feels really restrictive. As a developer, it's not great either.
I believe that as browsers become more standardised (i.e. you don't need rubbish like if(IS_IOS) { ... } else { ... } in your JavaScript), and they start to expose more and more functionality via well-defined APIs, developers will favour the browser as a deployment platform, simply because it'll be more ubuquitous, will be easier to deploy and manage, and will have a lower barrier to entry. Till then, native apps will maintain their position, as they will be the more polished product.
A personal anecdote: I gave my latest app (a PWA - https://usebx.com) to a few small business owners in my home town to use for free. I pointed them to the website, and the first question they asked me was "why can't I find it on the app/play store?". I told them that they needn't go to the app store - just add the webpage to your homescreen, and you're good to go! They much preferred that method, as compared to "faffing around on t'app store" (imagine that said in a Yorkshire accent)! They even loved the app, and as far as I'm aware, found it on par with a native app. My point is, even the fairly long winded process of searching the app store to find an app, then waiting for it to install, was the first thing that came to mind for these non-techy guys. Once they knew about "Add to homescreen", they liked it. I think much of the transition to PWAs will be like this - people struggling free from their habitual need to use vendor specific app stores and eventually embracing the simpler, more open, web-based app paradigm.
> ... seems to have taken a step backward with mobile apps, and replaced with an endless need for vendor lock in. It's great for business, but as a user, it feels really restrictive. As a developer, it's not great either.
But isn't using a web app that stores its data to a remote server and handles upgrades a method of vendor (in this case developer) lock in? As a user you are 100% reliant on the developer, both for your data but also in their mercy when it comes to upgrades (imagine developers changing how their UI works to a way you dislike - my aunt every now and then calls me because something went wrong but what really went wrong was Google making slight changes to Gmail or the Google home page that confused her - or, even worse, starting to require more resources than your computer can handle but you cannot do something as simple - with native apps - as to just keep using the older version).
I don't disagree with what you're saying, but the issue I have is with the monopolistic aspect of an app store... Basically, it's one or two monolithic companies that control everything and determine the rules because they make the base operating systems. With regards to updates etc, I think similar issues apply to native apps - e.g. devs can change the backend, which can break older front ends. I'm sure you can eventually have the concept of a versioned web app as well, much like versioned APIs, and users can decide if they wish to upgrade.
TBH i was mainly thinking about desktop applications where app stores are not really a thing (beyond Steam) and - at least in Windows - you can still use applications written a couple of decades ago while the companies that made them have long dissolved.
I agree about the gatekeeperness aspect of app stores too :-). At least with Android there is the ability to install APK files, though it isn't very user friendly.
I pretty much rolled my own! Everything from the view rendering to the charts were done in house, as I wanted to keep it lightweight. If I end up making a bit of money on this, I will definitely open source the charts and view rendering engines :)
If I'm honest, apps never really made sense to me; they seem to be part of an intrinsically closed eco-system, which feels completely at odds with the initial premise of the internet, and dare I say, computing in general. If you have an Apple product, you must go to the App Store, if you have an Android product, then it's the Play Store etc. The feeling of openness that I became accustomed to (probably from a time before "apps") seems to have taken a step backward with mobile apps, and replaced with an endless need for vendor lock in. It's great for business, but as a user, it feels really restrictive. As a developer, it's not great either.
I believe that as browsers become more standardised (i.e. you don't need rubbish like if(IS_IOS) { ... } else { ... } in your JavaScript), and they start to expose more and more functionality via well-defined APIs, developers will favour the browser as a deployment platform, simply because it'll be more ubuquitous, will be easier to deploy and manage, and will have a lower barrier to entry. Till then, native apps will maintain their position, as they will be the more polished product.
A personal anecdote: I gave my latest app (a PWA - https://usebx.com) to a few small business owners in my home town to use for free. I pointed them to the website, and the first question they asked me was "why can't I find it on the app/play store?". I told them that they needn't go to the app store - just add the webpage to your homescreen, and you're good to go! They much preferred that method, as compared to "faffing around on t'app store" (imagine that said in a Yorkshire accent)! They even loved the app, and as far as I'm aware, found it on par with a native app. My point is, even the fairly long winded process of searching the app store to find an app, then waiting for it to install, was the first thing that came to mind for these non-techy guys. Once they knew about "Add to homescreen", they liked it. I think much of the transition to PWAs will be like this - people struggling free from their habitual need to use vendor specific app stores and eventually embracing the simpler, more open, web-based app paradigm.