Apple is now providing an explanation as to why it is removing support for Home Screen web apps in the European Union in iOS 17.4. Spoiler: It's because of the Digital Markets Act, which came into force last August. 9to5Mac reports: Last week, iPhone users in the European Union noticed that iOS 17.4 no longer allows them to install and run web apps on their iPhone's home screen. Apple has added many features over the years to improve support for progressive web apps on iPhone. For example, in iOS 16.4, PWAs can now use icon badges to deliver push notifications. One of the changes in iOS 17.4 is that iPhone now supports alternative browser engines within the EU. This will allow companies to build browsers that don't use Apple's WebKit engine for the first time. Apple says this change, required by the Digital Markets Act, is the reason it was forced to remove support for home screen web apps in the European Union.
Apple explains that addressing the “complex security and privacy issues associated with web apps that use alternative browser engines” requires building “an entirely new integration architecture that does not currently exist in iOS.” Masu. This work “was not practical to perform given DMA's other demands and the extremely low user adoption rate of the Home Screen web app,” Apple explains. “Therefore, to comply with DMA requirements, we had to remove the Home Screen Web App feature in the EU.” You can continue to access the website,” Apple continues.
It's understandable that Apple doesn't provide support for home screen web apps for third-party browsers. But why was Safari's home screen web app support also removed? Unfortunately, this is also a side effect of the Digital Markets Act. DMA requires that all browsers be equal. That means Apple can't prioritize Safari and WebKit over third-party browser engines. Therefore, we cannot provide support for third-party browsers for the Home Screen web app, nor can we provide support via Safari. […] iOS 17.4 is currently available to developers and public beta testers and is expected to be released in early March. A full description was published today on Apple's developer website.
