Why the compromise...?

I know I've pretty much answered the question here, but I'm actually looking specifically for the development and best route to more expedient computing solutions, so this detail's provided all the same to put you in the picture...

An internet search calls on a vast amount of data yet returns results in a fraction of a second.

A local system search in a much smaller data volume can take ages, especially if you've selected 'file contents' [which internet searches are as a matter of course].

Programs/files on your computer open instantly, they are local, so they should.

Programs/files on the web need to be downloaded to be run/opened by your computer, this can take a long time, often inconvenient when there's held to be sufficient RAM, processor, storage, etc. for handling these operations.

It is basically just the bandwidth, right?

I know the improvements we're seeing at present seem to solve most issues - but everything you do on a computer has required the basic multimedia system requirements, nowadays, see entry level as 'dual core' processor around 2Ghz [my first pc was a 386Mhz], 4Gb RAM [mine had 4Mb], and around 320Gb HDD [mine was 200Mb].

And of course it's because e.g. sound and video need to be 44khz stereo and at least 720-1080 pixels displaying 6 million colours for a faithful reproduction.

...So we've only just attained something like what computers are going to be like when there's no further need for upgrade; it isn't everywhere yet and the first Ultra HD are said to fail coping with newer media that they were essentially designed for - Therefore even if you have super-fast fibre optic, 4G, quad core, 16Gb RAM, 3Tb SATA HDD - you will still be able and probably have to upgrade it at some stage - the crux of the matter is...

...Not as a compromise in specification, but in the rate of higher spec availability arriving to meet requirements - why are people accepting it goes at this pace.

The manufacturing process is the same per se - so who is fastest building the systems that will outperform present day technology by a multiple of 10, 100 or a million times more in ratio to this dawdling wreck we keep needing to make another purchase for, and how can we speed it up.

Just because your phone or computer seems to run ok for five or more years, it seems like you're on top of the game. I personally feel like hundreds of pounds are flushed away needlessly because I never buy a system that solves every technology issue I could ever have.