Yep, Apple’s breaking iPhone web apps in the EU
www.theverge.com
Apple says web apps from third-party browsers are a security risk.

Apple being Apple again. Just why does anyone actually like that company?

  • TheMurphyEnglish
    17•9 months ago

    The probably couldn’t afford the development /s

    But on the positive side, Apple is now forced to allow other app stores on all phones in the EU.

    So that’s probably a bigger win than this is a loss.

    • Rikudou_SageOPAEnglish
      21•9 months ago

      Depends on whether your app is distributed as a PWA or not. Mine is, so it kinda touches me personally.

        • Rikudou_SageOPAEnglish
          19•9 months ago

          You can, but then I’d have to pay $99 per year to Apple to have it on the App Store. 3rd party app stores are gonna be a wild west for a while, so not sure it’s viable as an option.

          • Lemmy Reddit ThatEnglish
            4•9 months ago

            I just made my app as a PWA, just few months ago, just to support iOS. F**k them. I’m not making any effort for iOS apps anymore.

            • Rikudou_SageOPAEnglish
              5•9 months ago

              Yep, fuck them. For me it was not the deciding factor in making my app a PWA, but it definitely was one of the reasons I went for it.

              • Lemmy Reddit ThatEnglish
                2•9 months ago

                I already had android app written in kotlin, so I didn’t need PWA. I guess it’s cool that I can use this PWA on computer, even if nobody would use my app on computer. When somebody asks me, why my app is not on App Store, I just ask them, would they pay 99$ per year for an app, and they say never. Well, there is your answer.

      • Lemmy Reddit ThatEnglish
        1•8 months ago

        @rikudou@lemmings.world Just an update for you. I just tried my PWA app on last stable version of iOS 17.4 and it works again. I made a quick google search if it’s just me, or Apple actually reversed they decision and I found this (from https://developer.apple.com/support/dma-and-apps-in-the-eu/#dev-qa ):

        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.

        Finally, some good news.