With iOS 17.4, Apple is ending web apps in Europe to comply with the Digital Markets Act, but the European Commission has sent questions to the manufacturer to explain its decision. This could lead to a formal investigation.
Apple can no longer do what he wants. Since the gradual implementation of European regulations concerning the American Tech giants, the latter are obliged to modify the operation of their services and products. It is to one of these laws that we owe the arrival of USB-C port on the iPhone 15 for example. March 6, 2024 will be an important date on the Old Continent: the Digital Markets Act (DMA) will come into force. It includes a whole bunch of constraints forcing, among other things, Apple to open your ecosystem.
On iPhone, it will for example be possible to download applications outside the App Store. But to comply with the DMA, Apple recently took a roundabout route by removing web apps for European users in the iOS 17.4 update. As a reminder, this is the possibility of putting a website on the iPhone home screen in order to transform the shortcut into a web app, which gives it features normally reserved for applications. Except that Europe does not view the decision favorably.
Europe questions Apple on its decision to remove web apps on the Old Continent
“We indeed examine the compliance of all gatekeepers, including Apple. In this context, we are particularly studying the issue of progressive web apps, and can confirm the sending of a request for information to Apple and the application developers, who will be able to provide us with information useful to our evaluation.“, confirms the European Commission to the Financial Times.
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Apple has not commented on this point, but says more generally it expects “this change affects a small number of users“, regretting “any impact this change – which was made as part of the work to comply with the DMA – might have on Home Screen web application developers and [les] users“.
The Cupertino company has already justified its decision by citing potential security problems. Given thatiOS 17.4 will arrive no later than March 6, 2024it is unlikely that any changes will be made to it before its deployment.