OK, so you have added another requirement. Not only you must not have to ask for permission, you also must target 90% of the users.
We are in somewhat of a conundrum now, because 90% of the users don't really know how to deal with webapps in a mobile browser, they only understand native apps or simple webpages. Also most webapps suck horribly on 90% of the phones in the world, because their bloated JavaScript requires performance-minded development and high-end phones in order to work.
and late adopters don't matter, anyway
Well, I interpreted the point of the discussion as why would devs chose webapps when that doesn’t provide the most reach.
I think your point about users not knowing how to deal with web apps applies equally to not knowing how to deal with alternative stores - and in ios is not possible at all.
However, a web app can still be used as a regular website in the browser, even if the user can’t figure out how to add it to the Home Screen.
I do agree with the rest you said. Webapps do provide a worse experience on mobile.
