Following the release of the second beta version of iOS 17.4, it emerged that Apple had restricted the functionality of iOS web apps in the EU. Web apps could no longer launch from the Home Screen in their own top-level window that takes up the entire screen, relegating them to a simple shortcut with an option to open within Safari instead.
The move was heavily criticized by groups like Open Web Advocacy, which started a petition in an effort to persuade Apple to reverse the change, and it even caught the attention of the European Commission. Now, Apple has backtracked and says that Home Screen web apps that use WebKit in the EU will continue to function as expected upon the release of iOS 17.4.
Oh look, the EU threatens to investigate and potentially fine them, and suddenly there IS a way to preserve “security and privacy” with web apps. It’s almost like the initial reasoning for the change was complete bullshit!
It’s still only halfway there, but at least they are not removing existing functionality anymore. Let’s see how the EU likes this new “only WebKit” restriction.
I think they just stuffed something worse relatively unnoticed, and this thing was intended to divert attention.
Great news! Web apps represent the democratization of mobile apps, empowering independent developers free from the constraints of the App Stores
Ability to add any app repositories would be much better.
Not better, but also good.
They wouldn’t be better than web apps in and of themselves, but having two options to reach users instead of one is better for the ecosystem, users, and devs overall.
It would be good, but not better. Why do people like apps so much? I hate them… Like, there is so much browsers can do these days, there is no point in having to install so much crap on our phones…
Why would I have to download an app that has so many permissions, syphon my data, run in the background and drain my battery, when 90% of the stuff can stay in the browser?
The only few advantages I can think off that an app can bring are the following:
- they can work offline, some of them at least, half my apps probably won’t
- better security, that’s mostly for bank apps, not really needed for many other cases
- marginally faster load times
- higher complexity, devs have a bit more freedom I guess
Most use cases don’t require either of these.
I’m using Voyager browse and interact with Lemmy. It looks more or less exactly like Apollo and it’s a webapp. There’s a few small things that’s not exactly as a native app, like double tapping the top of a scrolling window to scroll to top, but it’s really minor. I bet most people wouldn’t know it was a webapp if they weren’t told.
It even works with the sharing intent so I can share to native apps. Pretty awesome.
Nah, they should keep that stuff on Android. I like that I only have one app store. I used custom roms, weird alternative app stores and all that stuff for years on Android, but I like that iOS is built on a different philosophy.
Also, I just realized today that if EU forces Apple to open iOS to more stores, shouldn’t they force MS and Sony to do the same for Xbox and Playstation?
What difference does it make to you if other iPhone users are given the option? You don’t have to use anything but the App store, just like how you don’t have to use anything but the Play Store on Android if you don’t want to.
Why would it be bad to have alternatives? Stick to the built-in store if you want to, but let others have the freedom to choose.
Any company locking people to their own platform should be forced to allow alternatives.
Eh, they’re good in that way, but there’s trade-offs too. Not every app needs to be always online, but web apps do.
It’s also nice to be able to control what version of an app I’m using. I’ve got a couple apps that won’t be updated any time soon because the new version changed or broke something, removed a function, or had a terrible redesign, etc.
Not every app needs to be always online, but web apps do.
No, they do not.
PWAs are able to have some offline functionality. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Progressive_web_apps/Guides/Offline_and_background_operation
Yeah but it’s only for Webkit. Apple Webkit is deliberately neutered so webapps don’t work well with it so that people don’t use them and rather buy “real” apps in the app store
That’s great news. Not that I like Apple anyway with such douchy move.
Last minute change, even the release candidate doesn’t have the functionality restored.
Is this just for EU? Being in the states, will I be losing my Overseerr and Homarr web apps?
It was just for the EU, because they didn’t want to add a whole framework and support for third-party browser engines to act as home screen web apps. Now they’ll continue to offer those based on WebKit everywhere.
And that a week after eu announced they’d investigate apple for excluding the feature in the eu.
Looks like somebody was called out for having bullshit hehe
More like “MacRumors walks back falsely reporting something that never was…”
Ah yes, MacRumors falsely reporting… Apple’s own statements, right…:
Previously: https://web.archive.org/web/20240216001557/https://developer.apple.com/support/dma-and-apps-in-the-eu/
Why don’t users in the EU have access to Home Screen web apps?
To comply with the Digital Markets Act, Apple has done an enormous amount of engineering work to add new functionality and capabilities for developers and users in the European Union — including more than 600 new APIs and a wide range of developer tools.
The iOS system has traditionally provided support for Home Screen web apps by building directly on WebKit and its security architecture. That integration means Home Screen web apps are managed to align with the security and privacy model for native apps on iOS, including isolation of storage and enforcement of system prompts to access privacy impacting capabilities on a per-site basis.
Without this type of isolation and enforcement, malicious web apps could read data from other web apps and recapture their permissions to gain access to a user’s camera, microphone or location without a user’s consent. Browsers also could install web apps on the system without a user’s awareness and consent. Addressing the complex security and privacy concerns associated with web apps using alternative browser engines would require building an entirely new integration architecture that does not currently exist in iOS and was not practical to undertake given the other demands of the DMA and the very low user adoption of Home Screen web apps. And so, to comply with the DMA’s requirements, we had to remove the Home Screen web apps feature in the EU.
EU users will be able to continue accessing websites directly from their Home Screen through a bookmark with minimal impact to their functionality. We expect this change to affect a small number of users. Still, we regret any impact this change — that was made as part of the work to comply with the DMA — may have on developers of Home Screen web apps and our users.
Now: https://developer.apple.com/support/dma-and-apps-in-the-eu/
Why don’t users in the EU have access to Home Screen web apps?
UPDATE: Previously, Apple announced plans to remove the Home Screen web apps capability in the EU as part of our efforts to comply with the DMA. The need to remove the capability was informed by the complex security and privacy concerns associated with web apps to support alternative browser engines that would require building a new integration architecture that does not currently exist in iOS.
We have received requests to continue to offer support for Home Screen web apps in iOS, therefore we will continue to offer the existing Home Screen web apps capability in the EU. This support means Home Screen web apps continue to be built directly on WebKit and its security architecture, and align with the security and privacy model for native apps on iOS.
Developers and users who may have been impacted by the removal of Home Screen web apps in the beta release of iOS in the EU can expect the return of the existing functionality for Home Screen web apps with the availability of iOS 17.4 in early March.
Yes, it is. The only change being made is that WebKit home apps are being allowed. Since Apple couldn’t create the Home app frameworks for third party apps, they disabled all of them to comply with the new rules. This just means that, unless the EU says otherwise, Home Screen WebKit apps are still ok without needing to open to third-party engines. This is a non-story as that is already the currently released functionality and the change was only made because Apple was attempting to be conservative with its compliance.
I bet they could if they wanted to tbh.
I don’t think they could, at least not in the timeframe provided by the EU. That’s the entire (and only) reason they’re reverting to the existing implementation. The existing law, as written, doesn’t seem to apply to PWAs.
And now they sell it as a feature, huh?
Incredible innovation, so brave!
