Apple’s latest iOS 17.4 beta 2 has apparently broken Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) for users in the European Union, which means it affects these apps as alternatives to native iOS applications.
Security researcher Tommy Mysk and the Open Web Advocacy group first noted the changes, highlighting a shift that places web apps at a notable disadvantage within Europe (via MacRumors).
The changes, seen in iOS 17.4 beta 2, prevent PWAs from launching in standalone, full-screen windows, relegating them to function within Safari as mere shortcuts. This alteration severely impacts the user experience and the overall functionality of PWAs, stripping them of features such as dedicated windowing, notifications, and long-term local storage.
The restrictions introduced by Apple contradict previous suggestions from the company that developers looking to avoid App Store guidelines could create web apps instead. Developers had a choice between the open web versus the App Store. But do these latest findings show that Apple might be going after web apps as well?
“The simple fact is it doesn’t matter if this is incompetence or malice, the end result is the same. Unusably poor support for Web Apps on iOS. Apple does not face effective browser competition, leading to show stopping iOS web bugs with shocking regularity,” said the Open Web Advocacy group.
Last month, Apple announced big updates to iOS, Safari and the App Store to align with the EU’s Digital Market’s Act.
Some say the breaking of web apps may be geo-locked to EU users based on SIM carrier information, as these web apps worked elsewhere. Let’s wait and see if this change to progressive web apps will be reversed in the next beta of iOS 17.4 or not.
