PWAs, apps from the browser
Halfway between a website and an app: it installs from the browser, with no app store, and works without a connection. It costs less than two native apps.
What it is
A PWA is a website that installs like an app: it has an icon on the phone or computer, opens full screen and works without a connection. It installs from the browser, with no app store, and updates arrive on their own. One program runs on Android, iPhone, Windows and macOS.
What it can do
More than people expect. KardPal reads barcodes in 13 formats with the camera, keeps cards on the phone without a connection, and anyone who creates an account finds them on all their devices.
The AREAVISION app reads labels over NFC and runs on handheld scanners. The CRMs I built for Dracartys and for my own business also install on the phone as PWAs.
The limits
On iPhone the browser can't read NFC, and push notifications only arrive if the PWA has been added to the Home Screen. A PWA doesn't appear in the App Store or Google Play. If you need any of these, go for a native app.
Problems I often solve
An app for your employees, with no app store in the way
Paper forms, photos sent in a group chat, requests jotted on a scrap of paper. An app that installs from the browser on everyone's phone, personal phones included, and writes to the same database as the office.