You're right... but I think you have incorrectly conflated "web" with "desktop". Websites work perfectly fine on smartphones when they are designed to do so. I'm using HN on my phone's web browser right now to type this comment. I don't need an app for HN.

I don't have many apps on my phone because I've found I simply don't need them. There are basically only two cases where I use apps:

1. When I want push notifications

2. When I want to use local files