I'm not sure I buy the premise here. UIWebView is a class to help developers show web content in an app. That's all it was ever about.
> I'm pretty sure Apple is leaving this as it is on purpose so Javascript apps don't start to compete on performance with ObjectiveC apps
Why? Apple doesn't need to worry about this. Their platform-specific features mean that native apps will always win on user experience, regardless of performance. They don't need to hobble performance. Conspiracies sound cute to write about, and are fun to cook up, but it's much likelier that Apple just has better stuff to worry about.
They have a successful, widely-adopted solution for developers to create great apps for their platform.
They have a solution for users to have a great, fast browsing experience.
That's about all they need at the moment, in a world with finite time and resources. It's not Apple's goal to make every single nerdy desire or business model possible. It's their goal to sell a shitload of hardware by making users happy.
My mom isn't asking for super fast performance on a third party browser. She just wants her internet to work. Apple's already giving her that. QED.