That's certainly true now, and the Android team is on record regretting the decision. It would have been the correct engineering principle for a general purpose computer but obviously fails for a consumer content consumption node.

Currently both the core team and OEMs are striving hard to work around it (reversing it would be impossible as it's baked in).

However, I think as mobile platforms increasingly take on the role of general purpose computers, it will actually end up being a net benefit, and Apple's decision will look as short-sighted as the lack of true multitasking in older Macs.

But maybe not? Who knows...