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CAD and BIM
Edit: I presumed that the context of the discussion was apps in a general sense. Obviously not every application is going to be on the web and there are a lot of niche software that will never make the switch. I was thinking more qucad or sketch 3d for woodworkers to plan their desks, not solidworks and all its plugins to handle complex fluid simulation in mission critical areas.
As will applications like Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. As I see it, the web platform is neither adequately performant, nor are its timing mechanisms accurate enough.
So no, native is sliding. I argue that >95% of users are happy with browsers and/or electron apps.
Either that, or those peeps move over to iPads. Which by design forces native or psuedo-native apps.
Here are some desktop applications I enjoy and have gladly paid for:
Acorn (image editor) / 1Password / Evernote+Skitch / Pingplotter / djay
Lots of software would be better (from the user's POV) as a desktop app. However as a developer and as a software business owner/investor, it's (much) better to write web apps. So it depends on what you're asking here. Should you invest in desktop dev skills to further your career? No. Should you write your software idea as a desktop app if you want to make a business of it? Not if you can avoid it. If you're asking…
Lots of software would be better (from the user's POV) as a desktop app. However as a developer and as a software business owner/investor, it's (much) better to write web apps. So it depends on what you're asking here. Should you invest in desktop dev skills to further your career? No. Should you write your software idea as a desktop app if you want to make a business of it? Not if you can avoid it. If you're asking…
Why do you say that?
Browsers have one huge problem and that is they override important hotkey space (like cmd+w, cmd+f for searching etc). So native apps will always provide a better experience.
Google Docs actually hijacks CMD+F.
CAD and BIM
webgl and wasm? Edit: I presumed that the context of the discussion was apps in a general sense. Obviously not every application is going to be on the web and there are a lot of niche software that will never make the switch. I was thinking more qucad or sketch 3d for woodworkers to plan their desks, not solidworks and all its plugins to handle complex fluid simulation in mission critical areas.
IMO: To some extent, yes. Here are some desktop applications I enjoy and have gladly paid for: Acorn (image editor) / 1Password / Evernote+Skitch / Pingplotter / djay
Lots of software would be better (from the user's POV) as a desktop app. However as a developer and as a software business owner/investor, it's (much) better to write web apps. So it depends on what you're asking here. Should you invest in desktop dev skills to further your career? No. Should you write your software idea as a desktop app if you want to make a business of it? Not if you can avoid it. If you're asking…
> However as a developer and as a software business owner/investor, it's (much) better to write web apps. Why do you say that?
User does not need to worry about dependencies and libraries - they just need to make sure they're running a somewhat up-to-date version of a modern browser.
Users are not tied to a single device either.