> The only time you really need an app is for CPU-intensive work or accessing hardware.

Or when you want to own your own data, or work offline…

Sites can definitely work offline using the new Service Worker system: http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/service-worker/introd.... Try this example: https://voice-memos.appspot.com.

Between Application Cache and various data storage solutions (local storage, the File API, etc), webapps can do that.

https://unhosted.org/

If you want to do any sort of custom drawing or animation you basically can't do it with the web, the performance just isn't there. You must stay on the specific fast paths offered by the browser or you're screwed.

So no, the web cannot do pretty much anything with content and data. The web can do very, very little with content & data, it is just often enough coverage for passive things like articles.

There is a bunch of HTML5 drawing apps... what type of animation are you talking about?

Also, The web is far from being only passive...

I don't know what kind of custom drawing you are referring to.. the web can work with 2d and 3d drawing and animations just fine. For example, an entire first person 3d game built using WebGL - http://www.littleworkshop.fr/keepout.html.

<<the web can do pretty much anything you need with content and data>>

Not on mobile. Due to serious, oft-encountered performance issues, the web remains crippled on mobile compared to native.

By "native" I'm referring to apps where the UI is rendered natively as opposed to being rendered in a `WebView`.

React Native is bending the rules here but it is important to note that it is divergent from the web platform and convergent with the native platforms.

I don't think anybody is disagreeing with you.

The issue I have, and I think others have, is that 99% of "apps" don't need the extra capabilities and performance. Or if they do, it's only because of problems they've created themselves. "We're loading 45 tracking and advertising scripts, and now our site is slow. We need an app!"

The article here demonstrates the problem perfectly. Mobile browsers are absolutely capable of displaying the text articles on the site. The browser on my flip phone from 1999 was capable of browsing a site like that.