Layout and performance of the mobile web is a red herring in the argument of why mobile web is losing. It's not just this. There are so many other factors that I rarely see mentioned. Encrypted / protected caches, local databases, far more persistent logins and UUIDS, sensor integration without the annoying Browser requests x feature modals, launching from the home screen, consistency of experiences because of standard human-interface guidelines, background sync and notifications, integrated payment systems, and on and on.
Apps integrate with the entire rich ecosystem of the device and web apps barely / inconsistently do. There is work happening on all of the above things (kind of), but the experiences arent competitive, the work is piecemeal and the pace is far too slow for people who have the webs best interests at heart. The web is losing because the consensus model for standardising and making available the tools for building the web is antiquated and terribly ineffective. Unless there is a massive change in incentives for standards committees and mobile browser providers this wont change.
Apps integrate with the entire rich ecosystem of the device and web apps barely / inconsistently do. There is work happening on all of the above things (kind of), but the experiences arent competitive, the work is piecemeal and the pace is far too slow for people who have the webs best interests at heart. The web is losing because the consensus model for standardising and making available the tools for building the web is antiquated and terribly ineffective. Unless there is a massive change in incentives for standards committees and mobile browser providers this wont change.