EU iPhone: Apple must remove hurdles for third-party browsers and web apps
On paper, iOS and iPadOS support fully-fledged browsers from other manufacturers, but there are stumbling blocks. Apple has now had to overcome these.
(Image: Sebastian Trepesch)
To comply with EU regulations, Apple once again has to make fundamental improvements: In the future, app providers will be able to develop and test their apps intended for EU users outside the EU, as Apple has now announced. The change comes with iOS and iPadOS 18.2, the operating systems have been in beta testing since Wednesday evening. This makes it possible for companies and developers based in the USA or other non-EU countries, for example, to test their own browser engines, NFC wallets and alternative app stores – This was not previously planned by Apple.
No fully-fledged third-party browsers available for iOS yet
In the future, browser manufacturers will also be allowed to deliver their browser app with both an in-house web engine and Apple's WebKit. This will therefore save the effort of having to develop two browsers at the same time, as was previously the case. Apple thus had to remove two of the biggest hurdles in the development of fully-fledged third-party browsers for iPhones and iPads. The changes were made in response to "feedback from the European Commission and developers", Apple notes.
Apple has been allowing other browser engines in the EU since March due to the new rules of the Digital Markets Act, but actual implementation has been difficult due to the requirements that have only now been removed. This was sharply criticized by Mozilla and Google, both browser manufacturers have already tested their own engines for Firefox and Chrome in iOS – but have not yet published them. All iOS and iPadOS browsers inevitably rely on Apple's WebKit engine in their substructure; anything else was not permitted by Apple and is still not permitted outside the EU.
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Change for web apps too
At the same time, Apple seems to be opening the door for web apps that no longer rely on WebKit in their substructure, but on other browser engines: With a new interface, third-party browsers can allow their users from iOS 18.2 onwards to add a website to the iPhone or iPad home screen and use it as a web app. Originally, Apple had surprisingly announced that it no longer wanted to support standalone web apps on iPhones in the EU – rowed back at the beginning of March.
(lbe)
