Your first quote is very misleading because it followed this:
> apps had unique features like notifications and offline access.
Browsers can do those things. If you're going to offer "Browsers can't access all the APIs in iOS" then, at the very list, provide one or two examples of what you're referring to.
One major one for anything with a text input it the inability to know when the keyboard is open and closed and how large it is.
It’s very common for something like a comment box to keep the text pinned above the virtual keyboard. This is impossible on the web. If you have ever seen an implementation of this on the web (for iOS) please point me in that direction as I would love to copy the implementation.
Notifications just came recently, but weren’t available for a decade after availability to native apps.
The final hurdle is discovery. It’s not possible for a site or app to act as a one click installer of a PWA (add to homescreen) and sites can’t prompt to be added.
Hardware APIs:
There is of course a good reason why websites don't get unlimited access to those APIs (and why they can't access them in the background). But Bluetooth and USB are both available on Chromium browsers on every platform except iOS (because Chrome on iOS is Safari).
Example: When Google closed down Stadia, they offered a way to unlock the Stadia controller so you could connect it via BT to any computer and use it as a regular controller. You just went to their website, hooked up the controller via USB, and the site would update the firmware on the USB device.
But sure, there are many use-cases for native apps. Also, there are many native apps that should just be a website (you shouldn't even need to install it if you only need to use it once or twice).
> apps had unique features like notifications and offline access.
Browsers can do those things. If you're going to offer "Browsers can't access all the APIs in iOS" then, at the very list, provide one or two examples of what you're referring to.