I think they mean that a webapp is necessary desktop-first. Many websites/webapps are mobile-first. It resonate with me as I’m used to try new services on a (mobile) browser if available and switch to an app only if necessary.

> the premise that “phone screen ==> native app not web app” is rather faulty, is it not?

We're talking about web app vs native app here, not big screen vs small screen.

Obviously, you can have either kind of app on either size of screen, so small screen first doesn't mean native apps. It's enshitification that's driving native adoption, not small screens.

Okay but that's not what he's arguing, you're missing the point.

There's nothing stopping a website from being usable on a smartphone. In fact, almost all of these apps are just websites in disguise! They use web views to render.

The reason it's an app and not a website isn't because apps are better for smartphones. It's because apps are native code running.

It's also a choice that websites cannot present as apps (PWAs). Apple and Google purposefully did that so they can push users to apps instead of websites, for data farming purposes.