The truth is that modals are easier. You don't need to worry about elegantly maintaining context. They introduce a side context. Unfortunately the spell break

The truth is that modals are easier. You don't need to worry about elegantly maintaining context. They introduce a side context. Unfortunately the spell breaks when you want to switch contexts again. The side context makes it awkward. There is also an issue for URLs as modals are difficult to share. They may solve one specific problem, but are less adaptable than doing the hard work of making separate views.