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Comment by mouse_ | Hacker News Reader

Anything I wouldn't be able to do by just going to the website? :/

Off the top of my head for ios - push notifications, offline use, optimized storage options (local storage not cleared after 7 days of no use), app-like ux (no browser controls), home screen icon for easy access, background audio (sound while app is closed).

The real advantage is for devs who can build an app that feels like a native app, but with one codebase for distribution across OSs/devices, not having to pay the apple/google tax, and not dealing with app review.

I made my web app into a PWA and even went so far as to polish the home screen icon and splash screen to make it look nice once installed. However, in the end, I use the browser much more frequently, simply because I can access the URL of the page and share it elsewhere.

The beauty of the browser is that you can choose your own adventure. Being able to use or test apps in a browser tab is awesome, and it's up to the dev to choose a ux that showcases / informs the user of additional capabilities unlocked after adding to home screen. We're at the very early days of exploring what this ux can unlock.

Also, on a desktop, some websites are just more naturally run in their own separate window than as a browser tab because you frequently need to switch to/from them: e.g. ChatGPT, Gmail, Google Voice/Keep, MDN docs, dictionaries.

And you can put the PWAs in full sceen mode, whereas full-screen mode in a regular browser is almost always pointless ever since they took away tab indicators.

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