While it had initially announced that Progressive Web Apps (PWA) would gradually disappear from its iPhones in Europe, Apple finally made an about-face. The brand will therefore indeed maintain web apps under iOS 17.4.
Remember, we learned a few weeks ago that the arrival of iOS 17.4 would mark the end of web apps on iPhone in Europe. Very popular with developers and users, these allow iPhone owners to create a shortcut to a website from the home screen, and therefore benefit from it as if they were native applications . However, due to the entry into force of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) on March 6, the company led by Tim Cook took the surprising decision to transform web apps into simple shortcuts to web pages. A widely contested choice, on which Apple decided, against all odds, to backtrack.
Apple reconsiders its decision to end web applications on iPhone
For the Apple brand, there seemed to be no way out of the hope of being able to continue offering web apps on European iPhones while respecting the new legislation. Indeed, the EU requires Apple to allow competing browsers, including Chrome and Firefox, to operate independently of WebKit, which is, as a reminder, the rendering engine used by Safari. One change among many others, you would tell us, Apple having already announced a multitude of upcoming changes within its ecosystem.
That being said, the removal of web apps has provoked criticism from developers since they are for them a preferred alternative to the App Store. For users, PWAs are a way to pin their favorite websites to their home screen while benefiting from various features, including offline access and notifications.
As this announcement was not unanimous, Apple has finally updated the page dedicated to developers, specifying that it will continue to offer web applications on the home screen of European iPhones.
A return to normal upon the release of iOS 17.4
To the delight of developers, Apple now informs us that Progressive Web Apps will be retained in iOS 17.4. Let us recall in passing that Apple had previously accused Europe of being responsible for this withdrawal. In any case, the brand with the bitten apple claims to have listened to the many requests, as relayed to us by our colleagues at 9to5Mac :
“ We have received requests to continue offering support for home screen web apps in iOS. We will therefore continue to offer this functionality within the EU. This support means that Home screen web apps continue to be built directly on WebKit and its security architecture, and align with the security and privacy model of native apps on iOS “.
At the end of the press release, the Cupertino company specifies that European developers and users affected by the removal of PWAs in the latest beta version of iOS will soon see the functionality make a comeback. The opportunity to learn that the final version of iOS 17.4 will be released in a handful of days, shortly before the DMA comes into force on March 6.
859€
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- A design that gains in elegance
- The disappearing notch
- Ultra bright screen
The iPhone 15 does better than its predecessor, and on every level! Equipped with a superb, very bright screen (but still 60 Hz), finally free of its notch, it is already establishing itself as a wonderful traveling companion for years to come.
More versatile than ever in photography, thanks to its new sensor offering 2x digital zoom which was sorely lacking in previous models, it clearly overshadows the iPhone 15 Pro. However, keep in mind that autonomy is a real stone in the shoe of this model, which makes us prefer the iPhone 15 Plus this year. Despite everything, we appreciate the move to USB-C, even if the USB 2.0 standard is far too dated.
The fact remains that Apple is making all the right choices this year to bring its “standard” range up to speed, where the Pro models tended to take too big a lead in terms of design as well as in terms of performance.
The iPhone 15 does better than its predecessor, and on every level! Equipped with a superb, very bright screen (but still 60 Hz), finally free of its notch, it is already establishing itself as a wonderful traveling companion for years to come.
More versatile than ever in photography, thanks to its new sensor offering 2x digital zoom which was sorely lacking in previous models, it clearly overshadows the iPhone 15 Pro. However, keep in mind that autonomy is a real stone in the shoe of this model, which makes us prefer the iPhone 15 Plus this year. Despite everything, we appreciate the move to USB-C, even if the USB 2.0 standard is far too dated.
The fact remains that Apple is making all the right choices this year to bring its “standard” range up to speed, where the Pro models tended to take too big a lead in terms of design as well as in terms of performance.
Source : TechCrunch
Apple iPhone 15
Smartphone
release date: 09/22/2023
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