I think you misunderstood users, it's not just ignorance. I want apps to go back in the direction of real(not cordova) apps, not some low effort web thing. Basically zero web apps match the experience of a well crafted actual app.
But, for my personal apps (which is what I am talking about in this thread), I can't support that. Writing it once and maintaining it takes up enough of my free time. This app also doesn't have any integration with the system, and has a minimal interface, so it works quite well as a web app.
15 years ago, getting it right took a ton development time, but today there are frameworks that handle it with minimal effort.
And this is suppose to be an argument for web apps?
The WHOLE POINT of native apps is that they are better at integrating with the system. Like access storage, gps, camera, accelerometer/gyroscope, etc.
Besides that the only benefit of a native app is basically that the UI/UX will be closer to what the user is accustomed to.
Especially on iOS more so than Android apps since there is no JVM like environment.
You realize you’re still not exactly making your case for web apps right?
That there are people who have to target multiple operating systems, and don't have 100+ people working on their team, right?
I mean...it doesn't take a genius to figure out that there's a benefit to being able to write code once and deploy to ALL users/customers without having to dedicate entire teams of developers with expertise in various platforms.
I'm an Android developer with 10+ years of experience. I take pride in my native apps that I code for the company I work for. They are far superior to any web app or "multiplatform framework solution".
But if I had to create my own personal app, there's no way in hell I'd spend years learning everything it would take to create a native iOS, Windows, Linux, MacOS version.
I'd be an absolute idiot if I didn't just choose a solution, like a web app, or framework that was able to output for more systems, etc.
It often hinges on seemingly small design decisions that make some frequent task either a breeze or a constant annoyance. There aren't many cases where making the right design decision depends on whether or not the code is "native".
I believe the most important distinction is whether the motivation for making an app is economically aligned with my motivation for using it and sustainably so.
It's not primarily a technology issue.
For me, it also depends on how integral internet access is to the application's function. When I'm on my computer and want to check the weather, I don't want to launch a separate application. I just google "weather". I agree that games probably belong as standalone desktop/mobile applications and similarly for other programs requiring deep integration with OS APIs. But if an app mostly wraps content that's already available via a website (e.g. starbucks.com, subway.com, or news sites), I'd rather just use a full-blooded web browser.