Well, yes and no. I think there would be no Electron Apps if the native desktop sdk/api/frameworks wouldn’t be garbage.
On Windows it’s a total mess, Win32/WPF/UWP and now what ever their fancy is (I think it’s Win32 again?).
Linux the same, so many differ ent things like kde/gnome or whatever. I think without electron there wouldn’t even be many nativ apps for Linux. And MacOS? Well can’t really say anything here because last time I tried doing some native development there, XCode was just too horrible and I stopped. Maybe Cocoa/SwiftUi is ok, I don’t know.
For me it’s like we replaced garbage with other garbage. The one garbage is for developers and the other for end users. I think most end users doesn’t even care, like what’s apple script? I just want to listen to music. I also think the majority of people doesn’t even have a printer anymore?
So the benefits of native apps are just for a small fraction of users. I would love to see more native apps but I understand why developers choose not to do it.
I'd say Electron apps would exist regardless of the native toolkit quality. The business case is that you're probably already building a website, and if that's the case, why not offer native apps too with almost no added development time? The value of Electron is that you don't have to hire development teams for each platform.
And yes, Windows development is a mess. Mac less so. KDE and Gnome have their strengths and weaknesses. Ask around the average Mac, Gnome, and Windows user what they think of Electron apps. Windows users are probably the most positive, because their desktop experience is garbage anyway.
Does that make JavaScript actually better? Win32/WPF/UWP meet Angular/KendoUI/Sencha. React and Vue are slightly less messy, admittedly. But it's still a very fragmented landscape.
For me it’s like we replaced garbage with other garbage. The one garbage is for developers and the other for end users. I think most end users doesn’t even care, like what’s apple script? I just want to listen to music. I also think the majority of people doesn’t even have a printer anymore?
So the benefits of native apps are just for a small fraction of users. I would love to see more native apps but I understand why developers choose not to do it.