I just built an app I have, using both ways mentioned.
ionic build:
2.24mb
ionic cordova build browser:
2.24mb
392kb in additional files - not including assets folder.
(note: I’m including all files created during the platform browser build process - not knowing if All are required )
I have had some hit and misses with Ionic Native components - NativeAudio comes to mind.
Useful for device builds but not for PWA. But PWA does not need it in desktop browsers.
So, there are still some holes to fill in the PWA for device browsers, regarding audio.
I had no luck with OneSignal Native for the browser but I did not exhaust it. I opted for a dual setup using WebPush for browsers ( including device ) and Native for app installs.
Size-wise though, seems to be a minimal increase.
Usefulness: I have not found a need for the browser build - yet.
I am mostly aiming for this to be strictly a PWA.
It uses JWT’s, uploads, geo, push notifications, storage, etc… So far so good. It is up and running but is a locality based app which I do not want bombarded.
Private message for link if interested.
Here is my list of non default dependencies in above project:
"@ionic-native/camera": “^3.12.1”,
"@ionic-native/core": “4.0.0”,
"@ionic-native/crop": “^3.12.1”,
"@ionic-native/device": “^3.12.1”,
"@ionic-native/file": “^3.12.1”,
"@ionic-native/geolocation": “^3.12.1”,
"@ionic-native/location-accuracy": “^3.12.1”,
"@ionic-native/media": “^4.1.0”,
"@ionic-native/native-audio": “^3.14.0”,
"@ionic-native/native-geocoder": “^4.1.0”,
"@ionic-native/onesignal": “^3.12.1”,
"@ionic-native/splash-screen": “3.12.1”,
"@ionic-native/status-bar": “3.12.1”,
"@ionic-native/transfer": “^3.12.1”,
"@ionic/storage": “2.0.1”,
“angular2-jwt”: “^0.2.3”,
“angular2-uuid”: “^1.1.1”,
“cropperjs”: “^1.0.0-rc”,
“ng2-currency-mask”: “^4.0.2”,
“ng2-file-upload”: “^1.2.0”,