Capacitor is an open-source project announced by Max Lynch, CEO of Ionic, as a new native runtime aimed at enhancing the development of Ionic apps across platforms like iOS, Android, Electron, and the web as Progressive Web Apps. It offers a consistent API that makes app functionality portable and cross-platform, along with features such as first-class Progressive Web App support, a simple plugin model, and a rich standard library of native features. Capacitor is designed to address the demand for better native support and plugins from Ionic's clients, offering improvements over Cordova by embracing Swift for iOS, managing native project code as a source artifact, and supporting a wide range of Cordova plugins. The project, still in alpha, invites developers to test and provide feedback to enhance its functionality and reach production readiness, with future plans including improved Cordova support, first-class Electron integration, and enterprise plugins.