One change in iOS 17.4 is that the iPhone now supports alternative browser engines in the EU. This allows companies to build browsers that don’t use Apple’s WebKit engine for the first time. Apple says that this change, required by the Digital Markets Act, is why it has been forced to remove Home Screen web apps support in the European Union.
Apple explains that it would have to build an “entirely new integration architecture that does not currently exist in iOS” to address the “complex security and privacy concerns associated with web apps using alternative browser engines.”
This work “was not practical to undertake given the other demands of the DMA and the very low user adoption of Home Screen web apps,” Apple explains. “And so, to comply with the DMA’s requirements, we had to remove the Home Screen web apps feature in the EU.”
So apparently Apple is a special snowflake that cannot fathom implementing something that Android has had forever (installing PWAs with third party browser engines).
PWAs would circumvent their 50c install fee --> bye bye PWAs. Has absolutely nothing to do with security and everything with being pricks.
Wow, that looks really bad on Apple’s part.
How exactly does this make apple look bad?
sincere question, I am layer 3&4 network stack developer so I am quite out of the loop for mobile apss/web tech
Yeah of course, I’m a web dev so prepare for a partial rant :)
PWAs have kinda felt like that thing Apple has reluctantly kept around to show the world that they aren’t trying to lock you into their App Store ecosystem. They’ve always been slow to implement new PWA features and address bugs (they just added notifications last year while it’s been supported on other devices for a while now). They drip-feed developers just enough PWA features and fixes to keep their brand image up, but not too much to where it could grow to threaten to their App Store profits.
Now, it feels like they finally have someone else to blame for getting rid of PWAs so they don’t look bad doing it themselves. It’s the moment they’ve been waiting for. They can keep their brand image looking good, and cut something out that has the potential to affect a bit of their profits. I would not be surprised if they start incrementally dropping PWA support the next chance they get.
Now, the only way to release an app-like experience for EU customers (one with notifications and other native features) is by going through their App Store ecosystem in some way. Meanwhile, macOS has PWA support and the ability to use whatever browser engine you’d like.
Granted, I haven’t looked in-depth into what these new policies are requiring of Apple, but for those of us that have spent years wresting with iOS Safari (sometimes called the new Internet Explorer) it sure leaves a bad taste. At the very least, it’d be nice to have some resources and recommendations from them beyond a small announcement/apology inside a collapsed menu at the bottom of a page.
