Why Apple’s Decision to End Support for Web-Based Apps on iPhones in This Region is Significant
Apple has released a new iOS 17.4 beta for iPhone users, which for the first time is available in two variants for different markets. The company is complying with new European Union (EU) rules that force Apple to open up iOS to third-party app stores, third-party billing systems and more.
However, the EU rule also requires Apple to allow other web browsers to run as a standalone app, meaning iPhone users in those regions won’t have access to web apps on the home screen. Apple understands that making changes to other web engines may compromise its own security standards. To avoid these problems, the company has decided to remove advanced web applications from the beta version of iOS 17.4 in the EU region.
Essentially, Apple is hinting at the privacy nightmare it could be facing as web apps can gain unwanted access from an iPhone user. Concerns also look at the potential penetration of malicious web applications into the phone’s camera, microphone, or even collecting their location data. Web apps are an integral part of the mobile ecosystem, and developers continue to invest in them for Android and iOS users.
Apple’s move away from PWAs sounds like a big shock to the community, but the company believes the impact of its decision will be minimal. So those using iPhone in Europe with iOS 17.4 beta version can access these web apps through Safari browser or any other browser you may have as default on iPhone.
Most of Apple’s concerns about opening up iOS to other platforms center on security. If iPhone users can download apps from the page, it can’t control all the apps that people install. However, these changes are limited to the EU region at least for now, so it should help the company track and filter out the bad apples.
