I was thinking about this precise issue this morning, because I was pondering that PastryKit post that was posted here recently and wondering if it would be in Apple's best interest to release that framework.
I think a lot of it comes down to competitors in the hardware space. If Android really takes off, and it starts supporting web apps that work really nicely - the way we are talking about, in ways that are similar to apps built in Obj-C or Java that are running natively on the phones - then if I were Apple, I'd ensure that web apps were just as slick on the iPhone as they are on any competitor's hardware.
Otherwise, for purely evil and competitive reasons, I'd probably ensure that web apps always had limitations compared to the native apps, unless I found a way to monetize the web apps too (for example, by creating an easy payment mechanism for use by web apps that ties in with iTunes, where I take a cut).
However, I think that Google is going to pile on the pressure to make web apps super slick (they are already doing so).
I think a lot of it comes down to competitors in the hardware space. If Android really takes off, and it starts supporting web apps that work really nicely - the way we are talking about, in ways that are similar to apps built in Obj-C or Java that are running natively on the phones - then if I were Apple, I'd ensure that web apps were just as slick on the iPhone as they are on any competitor's hardware.
Otherwise, for purely evil and competitive reasons, I'd probably ensure that web apps always had limitations compared to the native apps, unless I found a way to monetize the web apps too (for example, by creating an easy payment mechanism for use by web apps that ties in with iTunes, where I take a cut).
However, I think that Google is going to pile on the pressure to make web apps super slick (they are already doing so).