There's no reason why a web app can't work in offline mode.
Think of a web browser as the ultimate App Store -- you navigate to any "app" by using your search engine of choice or by passing around links to the "apps" via email / messaging. Then, you bookmark your "app" so that it's available with one click.
Offline storage, offline compute, notifications, etc. are all things that we can do via web APIs just as easily as proprietary vendor code.
Sure, some things might need native experiences, but those are definitely the exception, not the rule. Even games and navigation and real-time video can be accomplished via web-only APIs.
You’re overstating the capabilities of web APIs. Good luck trying to make a real web app with 3D graphics, offline storage, offline compute, or push notifications. All of that stuff is totally gimped compared with native iOS and Android APIs. This is no accident; widespread cross-platform app development with no revenue cut would go against the interests of the browser engine vendors.
Think of a web browser as the ultimate App Store -- you navigate to any "app" by using your search engine of choice or by passing around links to the "apps" via email / messaging. Then, you bookmark your "app" so that it's available with one click.
Offline storage, offline compute, notifications, etc. are all things that we can do via web APIs just as easily as proprietary vendor code.
Sure, some things might need native experiences, but those are definitely the exception, not the rule. Even games and navigation and real-time video can be accomplished via web-only APIs.