Apple is officially dropping iPhone support for web apps in the EU - The Verge

Man, they're seething against the EU, totally pissed that the legislators worked against their abuse over developers and rubbed against their cash cow.

Apple is all about money and fucking the user, being no different from Meta or Google. All they have is shinier hardware.

Fuck apple with a cactus.

Third party browser & JavaScript engine + ability to install web apps on the Home screen = third party app store that doesn’t have to pay Apple’s fees.

When Apple could force everyone to use Apple’s WebKit, web apps didn’t matter as much as Apple could limit WebKit features to push people to the App Store. E.g. it took ages to get push notifications on WebKit. If Google and Mozilla are free to make whatever improvements to their browser engines, the need to have native apps on the phone decreases considerably.

Just why does anyone actually like that company?

I mean, if Google weren't shit, I'm sure Android would be more viable. They've can't even keep a consistent brand! They've gone from Google Play this and that, to migrating everything - including podcasts - to YouTube.

I moved from android to iphone 2 years ago. As soon as this piece of crap dies, I'm moving back to android.

Welp, this might be kbin for me. It’s the only circumstance I’ve really found a PWA necessary, although I’ve considered making PWAs of some online shops I frequent.

I suspect Apple is eliminating PWAs from safari in the EU just because they don’t want to be forced to allow 3rd party browsers to do the same. Let’s go ahead and throw the baby out with the bathwater.

I’ve actually got a U.S. apple account on an iPhone bought in Japan, and living in the EU temporarily. It’ll be interesting to see how this is going to play out for me.

Aah, the security again...

Fuck this company

Apple really sucks hard! What a terrible company! 🤮🤮

As a sysadmin and self-hoster this decision will absolutely make me drop Apple 150%. A clean and well implemented pwa was a big reason I have stuck with my iPhone 12 despite buying a pixel 7. I know there are options on Android but they all have issues either in ux or in ui that makes it very obvious I’m using a pwa.

This is a Reddit-style circle jerk. A LOT of people like Apple, because even though they’re almost as remorseless as Amazon or Microsoft or Google when it comes to maximizing profits, they build good products, create new product categories, and they’ve been doing both of those things for 40 years.

Is this a sleazy thing to do? Yup. Is it as sleazy as Meta intentionally allowing its algorithm to push softcore kiddie porn to teen Instagram users? Nope. Not even in the same ballpark.

Some services, like Facebook Gaming, use web apps as a way to get around the Apple App Store and its fees.

Smell coming out from this little hole here :)

Whoever buys apple shit will learn eventually. Or just go extinct.

Another reason to keep hating apple. Fascists corporate america

Holy shit if this is true it will be a game changer for me . Will be start looking android devices. Such a retrograde movement!

Queue the Apple dick riders defending their precious megacorp from being a POS company

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.

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

Marketing and build quality goes a long way to making people feel like a company is good.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Apple is officially axing support for progressive web apps for iPhone users located in the European Union.

While web apps have been broken for EU users in every iOS 17.4 beta so far, Apple has now confirmed that this is a feature, not a bug.

In an update to its developer website spotted by 9to5Mac, Apple says it’s removing homescreen apps for users in the EU because bringing them into compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) would involve “an entirely new integration architecture” that’s “not practical” to build on top of the other changes it’s been forced to make.

In its post, Apple argues that web apps are built “directly on WebKit” — the engine used by Safari — allowing web apps to “align with the security and privacy model for native apps on iOS.” With the change to iOS 17.4, websites added to the homescreen now act only as bookmarks that open a new tab in your browser, rather than (potentially) standalone services capable of doing things like sending notifications and showing badges, a feature Apple just added to web apps last year.

Progressive web apps on iOS are also capable of storing data separately from your browser instance, which comes in handy if there’s a site you want quick access to and don’t want to keep signing in.

“Still, we regret any impact this change — that was made as part of the work to comply with the DMA — may have on developers of Home Screen web apps and our users.” Apple cites “very low user adoption” of homescreen apps as another reason for the lack of support.

The original article contains 399 words, the summary contains 272 words. Saved 32%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

I was starting to love pwa... But this is going to kill the momentum it was starting to have 😢

This is probably motivated by the EU decision that since no uses iMessage in the EU, Apple is not legally a "gatekeeper". Perhaps no one (i.e. fewer than 40 million people) uses web apps in the EU, therefore they are gambling that they are allowed to legally gatekeep in that market

That shit brand created a cult for dimwits thinking they are better and smarter than everybody else by becoming platform slaves, and thus be exploited, as their only benefit of their deficiencies and dependency is consumism.

I like there hardware but I don't like what they do with it and what they do with the software

How will this affect the Lemmy client Voyager? Is it considered a web app? My understanding was that it was.

A lot of kerfuffle over not much. If you’re going to release a web app instead of a proper app, then I’m quite happy to have a bookmark to the web page instead of a bullshit fake app wrapping the same bookmark. Don’t clutter my phone with that garbage.

Does this affect the UK as well as they aren’t in the European Union anymore?

What are some popular examples that would be affected by this?

My guess is that the majority doesn't know what web apps are. Most people I know either have an app for that or consider a function not worthwhile or necessary.

An update from Apple. Apple actually reversed that decision. Finally. Tested on latest stable version of iOS 17.4 and it works. (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.

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It's all about brand and glam. Majority of people that need validation from others "need" to have an iPhone.