I think the second, because of this line from the article: "So you would build one application and run it in both contexts. Theia even supports a third mode, w

I think the second, because of this line from the article: "So you would build one application and run it in both contexts. Theia even supports a third mode, which is a native desktop app connecting to a remote workspace." Which implies the browser version is connection to a remote workplace by default.