The False Debate
The mobile app vs. PWA argument has been going on for a decade. The answer depends on five factors.
What PWAs Do Well
PWAs run in the browser but behave like apps. They are ideal for: fast time to market (no App Store review), cross-platform coverage from one codebase, lighter budgets, and content-heavy experiences like menus, catalogues, and booking widgets.
What Native Apps Do That PWAs Cannot
Hardware access: Bluetooth, NFC, depth camera, AR frameworks. Native APIs are far ahead of browser exposure.
Performance: For complex animations, video processing, and high-frequency data rendering, Swift and Kotlin outperform WebGL.
App Store discovery: 68% of app downloads start with an App Store search. For consumer apps in competitive categories, this matters.
Background processing: Silent push, background location tracking, and offline-first sync all require native APIs.
The 2026 Nuance
React Native shares 80-90% of code between iOS and Android and handles 95% of business use cases at near-native speed. True native (Swift/Kotlin) is only needed for games, AR/VR, or apps pushing hardware to the limit.
Our Recommendation
Mobile-heavy users needing camera, offline, or background features: React Native. Content-heavy product that works equally well on desktop: PWA first. Consumer app where App Store discovery is strategic: native from day one.