For many businesses, an installable web app (PWA) does what they expect from an app: it installs on the home screen, opens full screen, works with poor coverage and sends notifications, on iPhone too. A native app is worth it when you need the phone’s hardware, such as Bluetooth or NFC, a place in the App Store, or features the browser does not offer yet. Here is how to decide, based on what Apple, Google and the browsers say.
What a PWA is
A PWA (progressive web app) is a website with app capabilities, built and deployed on the web (web.dev): it installs from the browser, has its own icon and opens in its own window. It is a single version for every device, updated instantly without going through an app store, and it also shows up in Google like any other page.
A native app is written for each system (iOS and Android) and downloaded from its store. In between are cross-platform apps: one codebase published as an app in both stores.
What a PWA can already do
- Install on Android, on computers and on iPhone. Since iOS 26, any website you add to the home screen opens as an app by default (WebKit).
- Send notifications on iPhone and iPad since iOS 16.4 (2023), when the web app is on the home screen and the user accepts them after tapping a button. It can also show a badge count on its icon, like an app (WebKit).
- Work offline or with poor coverage, thanks to the service worker, which stores what it needs on the phone (web.dev).
- Be on Google Play: a PWA can be published as an Android app with a Trusted Web Activity, which opens it full screen in the phone’s browser (Chrome for Developers).
What about Europe? In 2024, a beta of iOS 17.4 removed home screen web apps in the European Union. Apple reversed the decision before the release: they still work, built on WebKit, Safari’s engine (Apple, March 2024).
When you need a native app
- To use the phone’s hardware. Connecting over Bluetooth to a printer, a sensor or a lock, or reading NFC tags. On the web, only Chrome-based browsers allow it, NFC only on Android, and Safari supports neither (MDN: Bluetooth, MDN: NFC). Since iPhone web apps run on Safari’s engine, there is no web alternative there.
- To work in the background. For example, syncing data when the connection comes back even if the app is closed: the web’s background sync is not available in Safari either (MDN).
- To be in the App Store. Apple does not accept a website simply wrapped as an app: the app must include features, content and interface that take it beyond a repackaged website (App Store Review Guidelines, 4.2). If your customers look for you in the store, you need a real app.
- If you sell digital content inside the app, factor in the stores’ commissions, which also apply to a PWA published on Google Play (Chrome for Developers). In the EU, since 1 October 2026, Apple lets apps offer other payment methods alongside its in-app purchase, with a different commission for each option (Apple). For physical goods or services used outside the app, like an order or a booking, Apple asks for the opposite: charge them with other methods, such as Apple Pay or a card (3.1.3(e)).
How to decide
| What you need | With a PWA | With a native or cross-platform app |
|---|---|---|
| Install, open full screen and send notifications | Yes, on iPhone too | Yes |
| Work with poor coverage | Yes | Yes |
| Be found on Google | Yes: it is a website | Only its store listing |
| Be on Google Play | Yes, as a Trusted Web Activity | Yes |
| Be in the App Store | No | Yes |
| Bluetooth or NFC | Only in Chrome-based browsers (NFC only on Android); not on iPhone | Yes |
| Background tasks | Limited, and not on iPhone | Yes |
| A single version to maintain | Yes | One codebase if cross-platform; two if native |
If all your needs fall in the PWA column, start with one: it reaches your customers sooner and costs less to maintain. If even one row calls for an app, consider cross-platform.
How we do it at Vetro
In our apps and platforms projects we build all three: installable web apps, cross-platform apps (one codebase for iPhone and Android) and native apps when you need maximum performance or very specific phone features. We choose after mapping the flows: what each person has to do and on which device. The server, the data and the accounts carry over in every case, so starting with an installable web app does not close the door to an app later.
Frequently asked questions
Does a PWA show up on Google? Yes. It is a website, and its pages are indexed like any other.
Can I start with a PWA and move to an app later? Yes. The server, the data and much of the design carry over; what changes is the application installed on the phone.
Do PWA notifications work on iPhone? Yes, since iOS 16.4, once the user has added the web app to the home screen and accepts notifications.
Sources
- Progressive web apps (web.dev) and service workers (web.dev).
- Web Push for web apps on iOS and iPadOS (WebKit).
- WebKit Features in Safari 26.0 (WebKit).
- Apple keeps home screen web apps in the EU (Apple Developer, March 2024; archived copy).
- Trusted Web Activity (Chrome for Developers).
- Web Bluetooth, Web NFC and Background Synchronization (MDN).
- App Review Guidelines (Apple).
- Apple announces changes for apps in the European Union (Apple Newsroom).
