iOS 26 and iPadOS 26: Changed web app behaviour on the home screen
Apple will make it easier to create web-based apps and alternative bookmarks in the future. Default behavior of the operating system has been adjusted for this.
Web app creation in iOS 26.
(Image: WebKit.org / Apple)
Web apps on the iOS and iPadOS home screen, which serve as an alternative to native apps, have been around for many years. Now Apple is changing the default behavior: With iOS 26 and iPadOS 26, the iPhone manufacturer is implementing a choice whether a URL should really become a web app or “just” a bookmark. Websites that are not explicitly implemented as a web app can also be used as such.
A long history
Apple has allowed the creation of web bookmarks on the home screen since January 2008 (back then under iPhone OS 1.1.3). From August of that year, it was also possible to trigger an app-like standalone mode if a corresponding meta tag was present in the HTML document (name='apple-mobile-web-app-capable').
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Since 2018 (iOS 11.4), Apple has been following the Web Application Manifesto of the W3C web consortium, which allows developers to configure their websites more broadly via a JSON file—with their icon, among other things. If both the meta tag and JSON were missing, iOS opened the page in the browser (bookmark behavior). There was no way for users to influence the behavior.
New default behaviour
This has now changed with iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. The default behavior is now always to open as a web app as soon as you place a website in Safari via the share dialogue on the home screen. However, there is a switch in the respective dialogue that can prevent this. If “Open as web app” is deactivated, a bookmark is written again, regardless of whether it is a web app (according to JSON or meta tag) or not.
This gives users more choice again. Apple emphasizes that this does not remove the previous web app support. “When you include a web app manifest on your website, the associated benefits become part of the user's experience. If you define your icons in the manifest, they will be used.” The use of web apps now simply no longer requires a JSON manifest (or the meta tag) to be present. The company also emphasizes that web apps under iOS and iPadOS never require service workers. “However, service workers in your code can significantly improve the user experience.” Overall, according to Apple, there are now “zero conditions” for the “installability” of web apps in Safari. Any website can become a web app on the home screen.
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