Is isn't noticeable at all if the app is built correctly. My app is used by health care professionals to log their hours and patient charting. Everything is instant when clicked and the app also has limited offline functionality. It's snappier than most mainstream native apps. Everything is native HTML 5 & CSS with very minimal javascript to handle logic and validate inputs.
> I assume you have a native app as well and have benchmarked both with users.
Yes, I can speak for them. They compared their native implementation with the one that exists. The users enjoy using the web app compared to the current native app.
Why? Because it doesn't exist. Because creating a native app doesn't solve the problem. Because when you say "native", do you mean iOS or Android? Or Mac? Or Windows? Or Linux? Or whatever else there is?
Yes, eventually, there might be a desire to build out a native app if it's needed. But the assumption that everyone needs a native app is absurd. Not everything needs a native app, and can work just fine without.
As for this persons users? Yes, they enjoy the PWA, because without it, the "native" app wouldn't work for some of them.
If it’s a choice between PWA and no app then of course PWA has a use.
But if you think it will upend the industry then that is frankly delusional. PWA apps are worse than native in every single way for the user. Great for developers. Terrible for users.
Developers trying to satisfy their users are not trying to upend the industry.
And as users can't tell, why is it terrible for users? All kinds of apps can suck and be user unfriendly. That's a different dimension than native vs web.
Because when you compare native/PWA with mainstream apps the experience is significant.