Apple Backtracks on the Removal of Home Screens Web Apps on iOS in the EU

Apple is backtracking on its decision to drop support for Home Screen web apps on iOS 17.3 in the EU. The company quietly published an update on its Developer site today (via 9to5Mac) to explain that after listening to feedback, it won’t go forward with the change in the EU.

The company’s initial announcement regarding the deprecation of Home Screen web apps in the EU was quite controversial. Indeed, Apple explained that it was doing that to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which will require Apple to allow alternative browser engines on iOS. Apple said that due to the low usage of Home Screen web apps, it couldn’t justify doing the architecture work to make Home Screen web apps that would use alternative browser engines as secure as current web apps that use Apple’s WebKit engine underneath.

By dropping support for Home Screen web apps in the EU, Apple was preventing services that aren’t currently authorized on the App Store, such as cloud gaming services, to offer a native-like experience on iOS. While it’s better than nothing that Apple will ultimately maintain the status quo, it’s still not ideal for web app support on iOS. You can find Apple’s full statement explaining below:

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.

Apple’s different measures to comply with the EU’s Digital Market Act have received a lot of criticism from Spotify, Epic Games, and other companies accusing Apple of malicious compliance. And this is probably not over. Today, Spotify and 32 other organizations also sent a letter to the EU Commission to urge the regulator to “take swift, timely and decisive action against Apple, to protect developers and benefit consumers and do so as soon as the DMA obligations apply.”