ProgressiveWebAppsin2025:AreTheyWorthBuilding?

Progressive Web Apps promised to bridge the gap between web and native — installable from the browser, functional offline, with push notifications and home screen presence. The promise has been partially delivered. PWAs are excellent in some scenarios and still inadequate in others.

What PWAs Do Well in 2025

• Installation: Modern browsers support reliable install prompts. Users can add a PWA to their home screen and launch it like a native app.
• Offline functionality: Service workers enable genuine offline mode, including offline form submission and data sync.
• Push notifications: Web push works on Android and, since iOS 16.4, on iPhone as well.
• Performance: With good caching strategy and modern frameworks, PWAs match native apps on UI smoothness for content-based experiences.
• Single codebase: One web app serves desktop and mobile without app store complexity.

Where PWAs Still Fall Short

• iOS limitations: Apple still restricts PWA capabilities relative to Android. Background sync, persistent storage limits, and hardware API access are more limited on iOS.
• Hardware access: Camera, NFC, Bluetooth, and biometric authentication have better APIs in native apps.
• App store distribution: If discoverability through the App Store or Play Store is strategically important, PWA gives you neither.
• Complex animations: Games and highly animated experiences still feel smoother in native apps.

When to Build a PWA

PWA is the right choice when your user base is roughly split between desktop and mobile, when your core experience is content-driven rather than hardware-intensive, and when reducing development cost by maintaining a single codebase is strategically important. It is a poor choice when your audience is predominantly on iOS and the native experience is central to your value proposition.