Apple has reversed its decision to remove home screen web apps in the European Union. Apple initially blamed its decision to deprecate WebKit on Digital Markets Act (DMA) requirements to support browsers other than WebKit, but with the release of iOS 17.4 earlier this month, users in Europe It now says you’ll be able to enjoy the same web app experience as before.
“We have received requests to continue providing support for Home Screen Web Apps on iOS, so we will continue to provide existing Home Screen Web App functionality in the EU,” Apple said Friday in an updated developer support document. said. “This support means that home screen web apps will continue to be built directly on WebKit and its security architecture and fit into the security and privacy model of native apps on iOS.”
Progressive web apps (PWAs) behave like native apps with features such as dedicated windows, notifications, and local storage. Apple removed them for European customers in its second iOS 17.4 beta and instead asked users if they would like to open his website in Safari.
At the time, the company claimed that support for web apps could compromise security given DMA’s requirement to support browser engines other than WebKit. “Using alternative browser engines to address the complex security and privacy issues associated with web apps requires building an entirely new integration architecture that doesn’t currently exist in iOS, and addressing DMA’s other demands and user It was impractical to do so given the very low adoption rate,” the company wrote in February.
The Open Web Advocacy organization quickly chimed in to criticize Apple’s now-rescinded move. “Apple has spent 15 years promoting true browser competition around the world, and nearly two years have passed since the final DMA document,” the group wrote in February. “We could have used that time to share with other browsers the features that Safari has always prioritized. Inaction and silence speak volumes.”
The EU didn’t seem too happy about the web app’s removal. European Commission officials said in late February that they were investigating Apple’s decision as part of preparations for a formal investigation. financial times newspaper Regulators have sent questions to developers regarding the impact of Apple’s PWA removal.
No matter what has happened between then and now to change Apple’s mind, Apple remains silent. Instead, the company is framing the reversal as a simple response to “requests” it has received to continue offering its home screen web app. Perhaps EU officials have assured the iPhone maker that the company doesn’t need to support PWAs from other browser engines, or perhaps the company is simply calling for a formal investigation (and the bad PR it could generate). Maybe he just wanted to avoid it. In any case, his iOS 17.4 beta users in Europe are the only ones who don’t have the web app, and they’ll get it back when the final version of the software arrives.
