1. Apps get added to the home screen by default. Adding a website to the home screen is not easy and most users are not aware of this function. When app is on the home screen, there are much higher chances that user will return.

2. Push notifications increase return rate as well. Website can't send push notification to iOS client.

So basically it comes down to user retention. Apps allows for better user monetization, compared to websites.

I disagree about one partly. It’s two (well 3 really) clicks to add a PWA to the Home Screen. I would describe it more as having friction than not being easy.

3 clicks literally means you lost 90% of your potential users.

That’s how Epics failed with Epic Games Store and Fortnite and moved to Google Play and started paying 30% fee to the Google and then broke rules and were kicked out from the Play Store.

My app does end-to-end encryption, and this is much more straightforward in a "real" app. (1) I need non-volatile storage for the keys, and (2) I want users to know if/when they get a new version of the code.

You can do E2EE in a web app (like Element.io), but then every time you load the page, you're trusting the server not to send you a new version with a backdoor.

Customers want dedicated mobile apps that they can download from App Stores.

Some simply cannot avoid it because Apple does not implement all necessary functionality for all kinds of apps in Safari and does not allow other browser engines that do on iOS.

A native app has access to way more marketable data than a browser page. Why do you think all the big sites keep on pushing you to install their app?

Notifications and icons are pretty big for me.

The web never implemented easy micropayments, and iPhone/Android did.

Actually, Apple Pay works great on the web, but doesn't charge a 30% fee.

Which tells you everything. There's a stocking fee you pay to be on the Apple Store. I never hear the HN crowd complaining about the hoops you have to jump through to get your product on Walmart's shelves. It's almost like the entity owning the retail channel and the customers gets to set the T's and C's. You always have the option for not targeting Apple's customers and building your app for Android only - just like you can tell Walmart where to shove it and only sell your product at Costco. It's how retail works.

But if you make a purchase within the app, the developer should be able to charge their user however they want (Apple Pay, Paypal, CC directly). Wal-Mart doesn't get a share of every game I buy on my Xbox even if I bought the console off a shelf at Wal-Mart.