> probably the only sensible way would be to use Unity or similar
You're going to need to explain this one.
> you'd be stuck with a long and slow installation step instead of an instant load experience
A 20mb app takes the same amount of time to download whether it's a zip file or a WebGL app, but the browser one will be much slower, much more error-prone, have less features, likely will require an internet connection every time you want to use it, and isn't guaranteed to be available indefinitely (and is usually non-trivial to download and play locally).
> Even worse, you'd be at the mercy of each platform's capricious gatekeeper. Have fun passing certification requirements for all those consoles, buying a Mac to build your iOS binaries, paying the associated developer program fees, and good luck getting your app on Tesla and the long tail of smart fridges etc
And this one isn't very accurate considering you can't run a WebGL app on any (non-jailbroken) game console. Idk about Tesla or smart fridges though.
The porting effort for a native app using 3D graphics APIs to run on all platforms is simply enormous, and completely out of the question for small demos like this one or really anything but the most profitable apps (and even many of those choose to use Unity or another cross platform framework rather than bear the cost themselves). Not only do the platforms differ in their supported APIs, they all have different bugs and quirks. In contrast, it is trivial to write a WebGL app with no framework and run it on practically any platform. Compatibility is dramatically higher.
> A 20mb app takes the same amount of time to download whether it's a zip file or a WebGL app
This is demonstrably false if you count the time that matters, which is time from intent to use the app to actually using the app. Just time installing and launching a 20mb app from the Play Store or iOS app store or Steam or even plain zip file (though in reality most apps require an installer) vs. loading a 20 MB web page. Also count the number of clicks required, and as a bonus count the permissions you need to feel comfortable granting for the app to run. It's partially technical and partially due to platform conventions, but the difference is not small.
> you can't run a WebGL app on any (non-jailbroken) game console
This is false. Xbox supports WebGL. So does Oculus Quest. You are right that PlayStation and Switch don't though, I was wrong about that (though PlayStation does use WebGL internally, and Switch has a webview that supports WebGL, just not a user accessible browser app). Yes, Tesla's web browser supports WebGL, as do Samsung and LG and Sony smart TVs and fridges and tons of other similar devices.
> A 20mb app takes the same amount of time to download whether it's a zip file or a WebGL app
You can do a lot more with that when so many dependencies are taken care of. No window creation, no extension loading, no audio layer, no image loading, no dynamic image loading, no libc or libc++, no 'visual studio runtime'
> probably the only sensible way would be to use Unity or similar
You're going to need to explain this one.
> you'd be stuck with a long and slow installation step instead of an instant load experience
A 20mb app takes the same amount of time to download whether it's a zip file or a WebGL app, but the browser one will be much slower, much more error-prone, have less features, likely will require an internet connection every time you want to use it, and isn't guaranteed to be available indefinitely (and is usually non-trivial to download and play locally).
> Even worse, you'd be at the mercy of each platform's capricious gatekeeper. Have fun passing certification requirements for all those consoles, buying a Mac to build your iOS binaries, paying the associated developer program fees, and good luck getting your app on Tesla and the long tail of smart fridges etc
And this one isn't very accurate considering you can't run a WebGL app on any (non-jailbroken) game console. Idk about Tesla or smart fridges though.