CSS Container Queries Are Finally Here—and They’re Everything

The App Store Empire Is Crumbling… and That’s Actually Great News

Your phone’s probably packed with apps you downloaded once and forgot about, right? Well, here’s the thing — that whole paradigm is about to flip on its head. Progressive web apps are quietly dismantling the traditional mobile app ecosystem, and honestly… it’s about time.

Look, we’re not talking about some distant future here. The PWA market is gonna hit $72.16 billion by 2037 with a 30.8% CAGR, but the real action’s happening right now. Enterprise PWA installs jumped 40% year-over-year in late 2025, and that’s just the beginning.

Thing is, most businesses are still stuck thinking they need separate iOS and Android apps to compete. But what if I told you there’s a better way?

Why Progressive Web Apps Are Crushing Traditional Development

The “build once, run anywhere” approach isn’t just developer wishful thinking anymore — it’s reality. And the performance numbers are pretty wild when you dig into them.

Alibaba saw a 76% increase in conversions across all browsers after switching to a PWA. Not 7.6%. Seventy-six percent. Plus, their active users jumped 14% on iOS and 30% on Android. You know what that means for businesses spending ridiculous amounts on separate native app development?

Twitter Lite (yeah, back when it was still Twitter) got a 65% increase in pages per session and 75% more tweets sent. These aren’t marginal improvements — they’re game-changers.

But here’s what really gets me excited… PWAs experienced a 70% increase in session length compared to traditional web apps. Users are actually staying longer because the experience feels native but loads faster than most actual native apps.

The Technical Barriers That Finally Disappeared

Remember when Apple was basically sabotaging PWAs? Those days are done. iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma brought push notifications, install prompts, and offline functionality to progressive web apps. Game over for that excuse.

And with 5G rolling out everywhere, the speed advantages that native apps used to have? Gone. PWAs can now deliver the same snappy performance without the 50MB downloads and constant update nagging.

Plus — and this is huge for businesses — there’s no app store approval process. No 30% cuts to Apple and Google. No waiting weeks for updates to go live. Just pure, direct access to your users.

What This Means for Your Business Strategy

So here’s where it gets interesting for business owners. You’re probably spending somewhere between $50K to $250K developing separate iOS and Android apps, right? Then another chunk on maintenance and updates.

Progressive web apps flip that entire cost structure. One codebase. One deployment. Universal compatibility.

But it’s not just about cost savings (though those are nice). It’s about speed to market. While your competitors are stuck in app store review purgatory, you’re pushing updates in real-time and iterating based on actual user feedback.

Look, I’m not saying every single use case works better as a PWA — apps that need heavy device integration or complex graphics processing might still benefit from native development. But for most businesses? The math is pretty clear.

The Reality Check Nobody’s Talking About

Here’s the thing though — it won’t be a winner-take-all situation. The smartest approach is actually a hybrid development future that’s already emerging. Some companies are keeping lightweight native shells while moving core functionality to PWA frameworks.

What I’m seeing in 2025 is businesses getting smarter about digital strategy overall, similar to how marketing trends are reshaping digital strategy across the board. It’s not about following the latest tech trend — it’s about choosing solutions that actually solve problems.

And progressive web apps solve a lot of problems. App store dependency. Platform fragmentation. Update friction. User acquisition costs.

You know what else they solve? The environmental impact that most people don’t think about. Just like low-carbon web design is becoming crucial for sustainable businesses, PWAs are inherently more efficient than maintaining multiple native codebases.

Making the Progressive Web Apps Transition

If you’re thinking about making the switch, start small. Pick one core user journey and build a PWA around that. Test it. Measure engagement. Compare it to your native app performance.

The conversion data doesn’t lie, but your specific use case might be different. Maybe your users really do need those native features. Or maybe you’ll discover they just want fast, reliable access to your core functionality without the app store hassle.

Point being… 2026 isn’t some distant future where everything magically changes overnight. It’s the culmination of shifts happening right now. Companies making smart technology decisions today are positioning themselves for what’s coming.

And what’s coming looks a lot less like separate apps for every platform and a lot more like universal web experiences that happen to feel native.

Make sense?

Let’s talk about how ACS Creative can help you achieve your goals.