A few weeks ago, Apple confirmed its intention to eliminate PWAs (progressive web apps) in Europe with the release of iOS 17.4, the next iPhone update that will bring big changes at the European level. Now, the company seems to have backed down. As they confirmed in the developer section of their website, “it will continue to offer the existing EU home screen web app experience.”
Remember that PWAs allow users Use web apps right on your iPhone home screen, as if it were an application. In fact, PWAs do not display any link bars, nor do they display Safari or other browser tabs or controls. They also offer the option to receive notifications yourself.
Apple, however decided to remove this feature in the beta version of iOS 17.4.. Many users have encountered the fact that this option no longer appears in Safari, and installed progressive web applications either work incorrectly or open directly from the browser.
The company later confirmed that this was a measure “to comply with the Digital Markets Act.” The problem is that the company must allow the use of alternative browsers to Safari in the European Union. Apple, in addition, You can no longer force browsers to use native WebKit.therefore, they can also use PWAs, which in turn can lead to the creation of malicious web applications.
The EU wanted to investigate Apple for this measure
However, many experts emphasized that PWAs do not pose a threat to user security or privacy. Even the EU sought to launch an antitrust investigation into Apple’s decision.
The company later confirmed that it would be necessary to create “a completely new integration architecture that does not currently exist in iOS” with the goal of addressing “the complex security and privacy issues associated with web applications using alternative browser engines.”
Therefore, to all those users who have not yet updated to iOS 17.4, they will be able to continue using Progressive Web Apps after installing the new version, which will become available in March this year. Those who have the beta will have to wait for Apple to reactivate the feature.
Source: Hiper Textual
I’m Ben Stock, a highly experienced and passionate journalist with a career in the news industry spanning more than 10 years. I specialize in writing content for websites, including researching and interviewing sources to produce engaging articles. My current role is as an author at Gadget Onus, where I mainly cover the mobile section.
