Subsequent month’s launch of iOS 17.4 will deliver a number of modifications to the iPhone and the App Retailer within the European Union (EU). These will embody the addition of third-party app marketplaces, in addition to assist for different browser engines, letting third-party browsers like Chrome use the identical engines on the iPhone as they do on the Mac, relatively than merely being wrappers for Safari’s WebKit.
Sadly, these “different browser engines” may have a facet impact that won’t be acquired fortunately by some EU customers: iOS 17.4 will take away assist for House Display screen internet apps within the EU.
After putting in final week’s iOS 17.4 beta, many iPhone customers within the EU found they had been now not in a position to set up and run internet apps from their iPhone’s House Display screen.
Now, Apple has offered an evidence for this transfer, confirming that it’s not a mistake however a deliberate change the corporate is making as a result of necessities it faces below the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
Since iOS 17.4 now helps different browser engines within the EU, permitting builders to construct browsers that don’t depend on Apple’s WebKit engine for the primary time. Apple factors to this new “characteristic,” which is required by the EU Digital Markets Act, as the rationale it has eliminated House Display screen internet app assist within the European Union.
Apple says it might be required to construct a completely new integration structure for iOS to deal with the privateness and safety points that utilizing internet apps with different browser engines would deliver.
This work “was not sensible to undertake given the opposite calls for of the DMA and the very low consumer adoption of House Display screen internet apps,” says Apple. “And so, to adjust to the DMA’s necessities, we needed to take away the House Display screen internet apps characteristic within the EU. EU customers will be capable of proceed accessing web sites straight from their House Display screen by a bookmark with minimal influence to their performance.”
However, why can’t Apple proceed to supply assist for Safari House Display screen internet apps? Effectively, Apple factors again to the Digital Markets Act.
Beneath the DMA, all browsers are to be handled equally. Which means Apple can’t favor its personal Safari and WebKit over third-party browser engines. In different phrases, as a result of it could’t provide House Display screen internet app assist for third-party browser engines, it could’t provide assist for the characteristic in Safari, both.
Apple’s explains beneath, on this excerpt from a doc printed on Apple’s developer web site:
The iOS system has historically offered assist for House Display screen internet apps by constructing straight on WebKit and its safety structure. That integration means House Display screen internet apps are managed to align with the safety and privateness mannequin for native apps on iOS, together with isolation of storage and enforcement of system prompts to entry privateness impacting capabilities on a per-site foundation.
With out such a isolation and enforcement, malicious internet apps might learn knowledge from different internet apps and recapture their permissions to realize entry to a consumer’s digicam, microphone or location with no consumer’s consent. Browsers additionally might set up internet apps on the system with no consumer’s consciousness and consent. Addressing the complicated safety and privateness issues related to internet apps utilizing different browser engines would require constructing a completely new integration structure that doesn’t at the moment exist in iOS and was not sensible to undertake given the opposite calls for of the DMA and the very low consumer adoption of House Display screen internet apps. And so, to adjust to the DMA’s necessities, we needed to take away the House Display screen internet apps characteristic within the EU.
iOS 17.4 is at the moment being examined by builders and public beta testers and is predicted to be launched in early March.