Regarding the "for some reason":
Java Swing (and JavaFX, and Windows Forms for that matter) all suffer from lack of integration with modern web browsers. It is near impossible to find a way to combine these model-view-controller based user interfaces with the DOM in a reasonable way.
Horrible as it is, web browsers have managed to provide a common platform for user interface delivery. The browser wars have been fierce, and getting this foot between the door has cost several companies a lot of money. This technological monopoly is far from optimal, but I fear that we are stuck with it, as we are with QWERTY keyboards, USB thumb drives that must be unmounted manually, and the hopeless misery that is Bluetooth.
That’s because companies want you tethered to their servers. There are plenty good native apps that doesn’t require to have half GB to run them. Most SaaS coul be native if they want too, but hey, you have a 32GB laptop, right? And we want all your data anyway. Here is our Electron app!
> That’s because companies want you tethered to their servers.
It is slightly more nuanced, IMHO. For enterprise software it actually makes sense to use browser based software, because it saves the IT department a lot of hassle with local installations and version management.
Horrible as it is, web browsers have managed to provide a common platform for user interface delivery. The browser wars have been fierce, and getting this foot between the door has cost several companies a lot of money. This technological monopoly is far from optimal, but I fear that we are stuck with it, as we are with QWERTY keyboards, USB thumb drives that must be unmounted manually, and the hopeless misery that is Bluetooth.