The European Union (EU) announced on Monday (26) that it has asked Apple for clarification on the end of web apps in member countries of the bloc. Earlier this month, Apple shut down this feature on devices sold in the EU, claiming that the Digital Markets Act (DMA) prevents it from delivering a secure experience for its users. The DMA is the legislation responsible for releasing third-party app stores in the Apple ecosystem.
In addition to Apple, the European Union is also asking other big techs that are required to follow DMA standards to submit compliance reports. However, Apple’s big tech may be the target of an investigation, which is a stricter instrument of the DMA, if the Bloc suspects any irregularity in the case of web apps. The EU is also collecting information from developers about this situation.
On February 16, Apple confirmed that it would end support for progressive web apps (PWA) in the European Union starting with iOS 17.4. PWAs are web pages that can function as apps on your smartphone. They run through the browser, don’t take up space, and can even send you notifications. Of course, this all depends on how responsive the site is to be used as a web app.
With the change, devices marketed in the EU will have web apps that work practically like a favorite. Meanwhile, in the rest of the world, PWAs will continue to exist and make life easier. In short: Apple will deliver a different experience for nations without a law like the DMA — bad luck for those who live in the EU.
Under the DMA, Apple is obligated to, among other things, allow developers to use other browser engines. Before the law went into effect, devs could only provide browsers that used the Safari webkit.
To justify the end of support for web apps in the European Union, Apple said that it would not pay to create a new integration architecture for PWAs — in addition to citing low adoption. This new architecture would be created to address security and privacy issues in iOS.
In theory, the DMA will come into full force on March 7. As we are seeing, it seems that the controversies are already beginning.