The next iPhone update is so close you can almost hear it coming in to land. There are many big changes coming, from a big iMessage security update to improvements to Stolen Device Protection. Now, Apple has just made a statement which completely reverses its position on one key element: Progressive Web Apps.
March 3 update below. This post was first published on March 1, 2024.
Progressive Web Apps are those web clips which are designed to provide a user experience similar to native apps but but using the web rather than an actual app, and users can put them directly onto their home screens. As part of its compliance with the Digital Markets Act in the European Union, Apple said that it was removing support for PWAs: full details here—pleaseread to the end.
However, things have just changed, with Apple confirming the changes in an “Update on apps distributed in the European Union”. Much of the document remains the same, but there are changes, found in one of the FAQs. Here’s what Apple has said in the 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.”
This is a complete turnaround. It’s a sign that things are still fluid in the run-up to the DMA being implemented. And it means that Apple has headed off the possibility that the EU was going to investigate this action—though this has not been confirmed.
The iOS 17.4 update will be here in days and then we’ll get to see just how big a change it proves to be.
March 3 update. Responses to this sudden and unexpected reversal has been widespread. First of all, Maximiliano Firtman, a developer and author, posted on X that while PWAs will remain, they must continue to be based on Apple’s WebKit, saying, “BTW, after the initial reaction of the reversal decision, it’s important to highlight that Apple also confirmed that alternative browsers won’t be able to execute installed PWAs, even if the user installed them from that alternative browser. I’m not yet sure if that’s 1) a final Apple decision, based on a new legal idea that DMA requirements actually never applied for them, or 2) a temporary decision while they find a technical solution for the problem.”
As for Firtman’s point number 1), the Financial Times suggests that it might be correct. It said, “The European Commission welcomed Apple’s announcement, saying that it had ‘directly or indirectly’ received more than 500 complaints about the company’s original plan.” If that suggests that an investigation might follow, the publication quoted a Commission spokesperson as saying, “Contrary to Apple’s public representation, the removal of Home Screen Web Apps on iOS in the EU was neither required, nor justified, under the Digital Markets Act.”
The report also notes that Open Web Advocacy had sent an open letter to Tim Cook, urging him that the policy be reversed. This letter had “almost 5,000 signatures” by Friday, March 1.
More as we have it.
