Apple Confirms iOS 17.4 Removes Home Screen Web Apps In the EU

Apple has now offered an explanation for why iOS 17.4 removes support for Home Screen web apps in the European Union. Spoiler: it's because of the Digital Markets Act that went into effect last August. 9to5Mac reports: Last week, iPhone users in the European Union noticed that they were no longer able to install and run web apps on their iPhone's Home Screen in iOS 17.4. Apple has added a number of features over the years to improve support for progressive web apps on iPhone. For example, iOS 16.4 allowed PWAs to deliver push notifications with icon badges. 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.' 'EU users will be able to continue accessing websites directly from their Home Screen through a bookmark with minimal impact to their functionality,' Apple continues.

It's understandable that Apple wouldn't offer support for Home Screen web apps for third-party browsers. But why did it also remove support for Home Screen web apps for Safari? Unfortunately, that's another side effect of the Digital Markets Act. The DMA requires that all browsers have equality, meaning that Apple can't favor Safari and WebKit over third-party browser engines. Therefore, because it can't offer Home Screen web apps support for third-party browsers, it also can't offer support via Safari. iOS 17.4 is currently available to developers and public beta testers, and is slated for a release in early March. The full explanation was published on Apple's developer website today.

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