Was this in reply to my top-level comment? Looks like this ended up a sibling instead.
In reply to your comment:
Perhaps, and I lack the experience and evidence to contradict you. I work solo on small to mid size projects that are mostly back-end. But I am fairly confident that with the large number of mid+ size web app projects we would be seeing a migration back to more native apps if the overhead is actually greater than maintaining multiple native apps.
It's not like every company in the world is incapable of independently assessing their needs. And bandwagons will form when independently-minded companies change their processes. So why aren't we seeing a mass exodus from complex web apps? And why are many orgs using native wrappers around these supposedly terrible web apps to produce a pseudo-native app?
EDIT: Also, how would you address how much easier it is to try out a web app without having to install it vs. finding, downloading, installing and running a native/mobile app?
The company I work for has a web app. Has had for years, yet have rebuilt the exact same functionality a further three times as native apps for iOS, Android and Windows Mobile.
Presumably the overhead of maintaining multiple native apps (on top of the existing web app) is still cheaper for them than making the web app work for mobile.
As a further anecdote, I personally don't know many people who like using web apps on their phones. I certainly don't. On my phone I use my browser to read HN and other articles and native apps for everything else. Most people I know are the same.
Re: your edit - finding is no different than your web app. Downloading, your web app downloads too only everytime I load it instead of once. When installing from one of the app stores, I've never found downloading or installing any harder than clicking a button. Installing, sure, but only because the term sounds like a crazy heavyweight thing to us. The process (for mobile apps, not desktop) is generally a single click that you do once.
The thing that web wins at here is that it eliminates even these few clicks, and since you don't "install" it, people feel safer and happier.
In reply to your comment:
Perhaps, and I lack the experience and evidence to contradict you. I work solo on small to mid size projects that are mostly back-end. But I am fairly confident that with the large number of mid+ size web app projects we would be seeing a migration back to more native apps if the overhead is actually greater than maintaining multiple native apps.
It's not like every company in the world is incapable of independently assessing their needs. And bandwagons will form when independently-minded companies change their processes. So why aren't we seeing a mass exodus from complex web apps? And why are many orgs using native wrappers around these supposedly terrible web apps to produce a pseudo-native app?
EDIT: Also, how would you address how much easier it is to try out a web app without having to install it vs. finding, downloading, installing and running a native/mobile app?