9 ms·

PWAs wont replace native iOS apps

187 points by monkey_slap 3y ago

twism 3y ago
seems like minor annoyances rather than the deal breaker the headline insinuates
Alifatisk 3y ago
“There are no silent pushes, so we can only update the app icon badge with a displayed push. Ideally, if you clear your notifications elsewhere, we automatically remove the badge on your phone. This isn’t possible with PWAs via push.” Damn, is Apple doing these slight annoyances on purpose to degrade the user experience?
- mmis1000 3y ago
  Weird, I saw mdn says safari support silent property of notification constructor. Does the article specify how it didn't work? Like does nothing at at even specified. Work in browser but not pwa, and so on?
- mvdtnz 3y ago
  Yes. Obviously.
- mass_and_energy 3y ago
  Does the Tin Man have a sheet-metal willy? Of course they are, it's typical Apple behavior to make it seem that anything non-apple is flawed in one way or another. It's to foster negative opinions towards PWAs so they can peddle iOS apps instead.
- blantonl 3y ago
  is Apple doing these slight annoyances on purpose to degrade the user experience? It's to degrade the developer experience to force you to native apps and the app stores for distribution
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
hnav 3y ago
I'm sure Apple doesn't have a vested interest in making PWAs good, I am actually surprised they added webpush.
prophesi 3y ago
Found the article they linked[0] much more interesting / problematic: > Now, when a user in Europe taps a web app icon, they will see a system message asking if they wish to open it in Safari or cancel. The message adds that the web app "will open in your default browser from now on." When opened in Safari, the web app opens like a bookmark, with no dedicated windowing, notifications, or long-term local storage. Users have seen issues with existing web apps such as data loss, since the Safari version can no longer access local data, as well as broken notifications. [0] https://www.macrumors.com/2024/02/08/ios-17-4-nerfs-web-apps-in-the-eu/ https://www.macrumors.com/2024/02/08/ios-17-4-nerfs-web-apps...
- hmottestad 3y ago
  That sucks. I use PWAs a lot for my own dev stuff. Let’s hope Apple roles back this change.
- deergomoo 3y ago
  I expect this is because they have to provide equal standing to other browsers in both user choice and rendering engine, but they don’t have to and have not provided a way to use an alternative browser in the full-screen PWA mode. Of course, there are numerous ways this could be addressed, such as not changing anything at all if the user chose Safari as their default browser anyway. But it seems quite clear Apple is willing to drag everyone down with them in their malicious compliance of the DMA.
- freedomben 3y ago
  I'm guessing they were only doing the little they did for PWAs to stave off anti-trust attention by being able to say "we're not gatekeepers. You can use the web," but now that the EU forced them allow alternative app stores, they don't want anybody using PWAs and they have no need for them anymore, so they're killing them.
  - shuckles 3y ago
    Apple announced web apps on macOS as keynote feature last year where they have no anti-trust scrutiny. This theory has holes.
BandButcher 3y ago
Understandable... PWAs are ultimately an alternative path from traditional mobile apps which will take away money from apple/google. But as a web dev community we need to stand firm and build PWAs regardless. If we treat pwas on iOS like we did Internet explorer (i.e. giving it special attention and hack solutions as opposed to just not developing for it) we will lose the fight. I suggest you call out the issues with ios and put disclaimers on your app page saying what's not supported, or add taglines like "for the best experience, use <other broswer>". Apple can afford the dev work to update Safari or work with the standards committee, but im sure with their new vr goggles they will take the proprietary route
- deergomoo 3y ago
  > for the best experience, use <other broswer> In this case you’d need “use <other operating system>”. There’s no alternatives to Safari for PWAs on iOS.
  - blantonl 3y ago
    This is unfortunately correct. Chrome on iOS uses Safari's Webkit, which is horribly broken on <insert here> things.
  - mkreis 3y ago
    That just changed in the EU: https://developer.apple.com/support/alternative-browser-engines/ https://developer.apple.com/support/alternative-browser-engi...
    - deergomoo 3y ago
      As did the ability to install PWAs. It appears to be gone in the EU in the latest builds of iOS.
- mulmen 3y ago
  “Am I wrong? No, it is the users who are wrong.”
- 3y ago
hmottestad 3y ago
I love developing PWAs because I can quickly and easily make an app for myself and my family that works without having to provision their devices or pay a dev license to Apple. I also use it at work for internal apps. It’s great for all those things. It’s very obvious to me that I’m a second priority for Apple. Dark mode breaking in iOS 17 and still broken 5 months later. Updating the app is tricky, and making users update is even trickier. Haven’t even bothered to try push notifications. One pro though is that when my brother wanted to use a PWA I had developed it worked flawlessly on his Android phone. Cross platform support is a big pro in my opinion. Maybe Apple will fix dark mode with iOS 18, let’s hope they also fix it when using guided access (which was buggy in iOS 16).
- hmottestad 3y ago
  Looks like Apple is going to fix dark mode in iOS 18 by dropping support for PWAs altogether in my part of the world. https://www.macrumors.com/2024/02/08/ios-17-4-nerfs-web-apps-in-the-eu/ https://www.macrumors.com/2024/02/08/ios-17-4-nerfs-web-apps...
  - hmottestad 3y ago
    Looks like Apple is just going to blame the EU. They are officially pulling PWA support on iOS in Europe. So fuck me I guess :( https://9to5mac.com/2024/02/15/ios-17-4-web-apps-european-union/ https://9to5mac.com/2024/02/15/ios-17-4-web-apps-european-un...
    - CharlesW 3y ago
      You seem to be conflating "PWA" with the Safari + Home Screen integration that allowed users to add a web[site|app] (PWA or not) to the iOS Home Screen. Apple had to remove this to comply with the DMA. It's now the responsibility of alternative browser engine vendors to integrate with Shortcuts so that you can add PWAs and other web[sites|apps] to the Home Screen using your browser engine of choice. The additional benefit of this is that different PWAs can use different browser engines.
psnehanshu 3y ago
And what is the state of PWAs on Android? Is it any better?
- rpdillon 3y ago
  Yes. Google Chrome has support and documentation on Android: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/9658361?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/9658361?hl=en&co=GE... Mozilla has documentation about PWAs across many platforms, including Android: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Progressive_web_apps/Guides/Making_PWAs_installable https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Progressive_web... Mozilla's docs are very clear in defining what makes a PWA special: > One of the defining aspects of a PWA is that it can be promoted by the browser for installation on the device. Once installed, a PWA appears to users as a platform-specific app, a permanent feature of their device which they can launch directly from the operating system like any other app. This is precisely what Apple is breaking for iPhone users in the EU.
  - robertoandred 3y ago
    Mozilla's docs are also out of date. Safari on desktop can install PWAs.
- monkey_slap 3y ago
  It's much better, but most of our users are on iPhones. The one (yes, one) Android PWA user is really happy. Probably the best part about PWAs on Android is that you install it more like an actual app. iOS still makes you "Add to Home Screen" which is very unintuitive.
- hardcopy 3y ago
  It's night and day. For example: - Installing a PWA from Firefox browser adds to home screen with Firefox engine - beforeinstallprompt event https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Window/beforeinstallprompt_event https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Window/befo...
- paulddraper 3y ago
BadHumans 3y ago
Despite my best efforts and I still have no idea what a Progressive Web App is and why I need to use one. Seems like it's just a website that fits a certain accessibility criteria. It also seems like a hassle to get working correctly offline based on what I have read.
- xd1936 3y ago
  You can think of it like a web app that's been coded to have extra features when "added to the homescreen". When added, the app can work offline, doesn't have an address bar/back button/etc, gets the ability to access device sensors, can send push notifications, etc. A well-made PWA usually looks and feels just like a native app.
  - BadHumans 3y ago
    What if I only want an app that works offline? Is there a reason to use a PWA? For example, I want to make a simple notes app that has no reason to need connectivity.
    - usrusr 3y ago
      If you don't have a complete Apple development environment, PWA is the best shot you have getting that little offline note taking to run on an iPhone.
      - BadHumans 3y ago
        That's not what I'm asking about. Whether it's Apple, Android, or desktop, if I just want to make an offline app why would I use a PWA?
        usrusr 3y ago
        If you only want to target one platform, and if you are already completely set up for native development for that platform, then yes, there's nothing to gain from going PWA instead of native. Other than the learning experience of course, which you might consider valuable unless know for sure that all your future projects will remain on that one single platform.
sccxy 3y ago
Apple has confirmed that PWAs will be just a browser bookmarks from now on. Other browsers won't also have access to add (actual, not bookmark) PWAs. That is the main reason to not allow them. If other browsers can add powerful PWAs then it competes with App Store.
- MilaM 3y ago
  > If other browsers can add powerful PWAs then it competes with App Store. This is exactly it. If they can't have full control over how PWAs work, they prefer to cut the feature out of iOS.
AshleysBrain 3y ago
I think this is more an illustration of how Apple are intentionally trying to hobble web apps so they can continue to tax all transactions on the app store, than any kind of issue with web technology itself. If Apple implemented the necessary features and fixed the bugs, it could well be a strong alternative to a native app. But they make money from preventing that and are doing everything they can to prevent other browsers from implementing quality PWA support.
mvdtnz 3y ago
The solution is simple beyond belief. Stop supporting Apple devices.
- deergomoo 3y ago
  Simple != feasible. Apple devices are where the majority of money is spent on mobile. People are not going to switch to Android if your software isn’t available on iOS, they’re going to move to a competitor that is.
- andix 3y ago
  Last time I looked into alternatives (it’s been a while) there was no manufacturer that provided updates to latest Android without any delays for longer than 2 years. And manufacturers constantly broke their promise to keep delivering updates as long as possible. I usually buy 2 year old high end iPhones. So this is very relevant for me. Also from an ecological perspective, smartphones should last at least 5 years.
  - layer8 3y ago
    Smartphones are now required by the EU to provide updates for five years. Samsung even promises seven years now.
    - andix 3y ago
      I guess only security updates are mandated. With an iPhone you always get the newest version of iOS and many/most new features, not just some patches.
      - layer8 3y ago
        No, besides security updates the regulation also covers corrective updates (i.e. bugfixes) and functionality updates for “the same OS”. Personally I would actually prefer stability over having the system and UI changing every year, and getting slower every year on older hardware.
  - 3y ago
meindnoch 3y ago
As an iOS user, I'm glad.
- sccxy 3y ago
  As an iOS user you would also prefer only Apple accepted websites in browser?
  - mulmen 3y ago
    If I squint Apple didn’t allow sites with Flash. I was and still am happy with the outcome in that case.
  - meindnoch 3y ago
    Like not allowing Flash or Java applets or Silverlight (lol)? Yes, I'm happy with that. But if at any point I become unhappy, I'll buy a different phone.
mrcwinn 3y ago
PWAs will never be as good as native, definitionally. There is always API drift. There is always runtime cost. Nothing inside a system can ever have parity with its parent container. If it could, it would be the system itself. People's experience with hardware and physical objects matters. If you accept that, you should always want to be closer to the metal at the cost of convenience or portability.
- palata 3y ago
  I don't understand why you got downvoted for this. Cross-platform is never as good as native, but in some situations it is cheaper. And there is a need for "cheaper but not as good" (we don't all drive a Porsche, do we?).
  - matwood 3y ago
    There are constant complaints about electron apps being bad and people wanting native apps, except in the case of PWAs. I can't keep all the complaining straight lol
    - addicted 3y ago
      Electron apps are getting much better. VS Code is considered the best app in its class by a distant margin and it’s an electron app. The first round of Electron apps were created by people who were simply trying to get some cross platform native version of their apps out. It’s only been recently that companies are now creating electron apps as first class products and now those apps are doing very well.
      - fiddlerwoaroof 3y ago
        The popularity of VSCode is mystifying to me: IntelliJ is a much nicer application and VSCode always ends up lagging randomly for me.
        palata 3y ago
breadchris 3y ago
"you must show the notification when you receive it", is it not possible to filter the notifications on the server before sending them down?
- franky47 3y ago
  That's what they did. 10 second delay before sending out a "new message" notification to give it time to be marked as read.
_cenw 3y ago
Apple just confirmed PWA functionality is being cut in the EU, because they would otherwise "favor Safari". This is so clearly bullshit malicious pettyness at the cost of their users to get back at EU regulators, I'd like to return my iPhone now, please. This is like being out with your friends while they're having the beginnings of a breakup.
andix 3y ago
PWAs will only replace native apps when the operating systems support them properly. Let's see how the European Union moves forward with the Digital Markets Act. Let's see if a regulation like that can tame Apple, or if Apple keeps finding loop holes to not fully comply in the intended way (to liberate the European market from oligopolist gate keeping companies). If it works there might be a further revision that forces Apple to support PWAs. And on the long run I don't think they will limit those features just to the European market. Once alternative browser engines and alternative app stores arrive, it might be possible to provide an app store that just wraps any known PWA into a native iOS app and runs them inside a Chromium browser. With full PWA support. Like the Microsoft store does. You can just register your PWA there and it will show up in the store, they even had the plan to scan the web for PWAs and put them in the store even if the author didn't register it. I don't know if they ever followed though with that plan. One positive mention: I recently switched my PWAs on Windows to Edge, and it's the best PWA experience I've ever had on any platform. A good PWA feels 98% like a native application.
- sccxy 3y ago
  If your free app will get popular with new rules then your free app will cost a lot for a developer. For example 2.5M installs/updates a year will cost you Total monthly fees $ 67,935 https://developer.apple.com/support/fee-calculator-for-apps-in-the-eu/ https://developer.apple.com/support/fee-calculator-for-apps-...
  - andix 3y ago
    It looks like Apple found a loop hole. I don’t think this loop hole will stay open for long. Edit: I really think that we will soon get an addendum to this law that will limit those fees. In a similar way mobile phone roaming fees got regulated.
    - threeseed 3y ago
      There is no loop hole. Apple is able to charge a per-sale license fee for using their SDKs same as Epic, Microsoft etc. There isn't a single court or government in the world who has disagreed with this.
LorenDB 3y ago
Maybe we should be pushing for fewer PWAs overall. I personally will not use any web-based app when I can use a native app (with a few exceptions). PWAs just add unnecessary bloat, and the current HTML/CSS/JS stack that the web uses was designed for delivering text documents, not apps, so that inherently limits the experience.
- mvdtnz 3y ago
  I personally will not use any native app when I can use a web app
  - theshackleford 3y ago
    I personally will not use any web app when I can use a native app.
- deergomoo 3y ago
  I’m 50/50 on this: if I care about something enough to install it rather than going to a website, I’ll take a half decent native app over a PWA any day, even without the gimping on Apple’s part. Truly native anyway; I have a strong dislike for stuff like Flutter both conceptually and in practice. But I also consider Apple’s iron grip on the platform to be against the spirit of computing, and I think having a viable alternative is important. I think there is a segment of software that would benefit from a nice PWA, but where two native apps would not really be worth anyone’s time.
  - palata 3y ago
    > But I also consider Apple’s iron grip on the platform to be against the spirit of computing But the problem here is the App Store, right? Both native iOS apps and PWAs need access to the hardware, which is provided by Apple. Really my understanding is that people push hard for PWAs either because they want to work around the App Store, or because they are web dev (and every dev tends to be imperialist with their favourite language, that's not only a web thing).
palata 3y ago
In my opinion, it is always the same "cross-platform" discussion. If you hire an iOS/Android mobile dev to write a native iOS/Android app, it means that you hire someone specialized in apps for mobiles. The whole point of a cross-platform framework is the hope that it won't need the specialization: "any web dev can now write a mobile app". But every cross-platform framework has the same problem: platforms are different, and require work specific to them. As a result, cross-platform is "write once, debug everywhere". If you don't know better, cross-platform frameworks systematically seem to "get to the same result faster". So many companies go for cross-platform frameworks. But in reality, the different platforms are so different that the only way to make a truly great app is to go native everywhere. Not that there is not a place for PWAs: "cheaper but not as good" is clearly the trend everywhere. But I don't see PWAs replace "great native apps" anytime soon. If PWAs win, it will just mean that the users got worse apps because the companies spent less money on them.
- smoldesu 3y ago
  > If PWAs win, it will just mean that the users got worse apps If PWAs win, it will be because native apps failed. Android and MacOS both have an enormous community of open source native apps that are more private, functional and accountable than their commercial alternatives. So far, Apple hasn't opened the floodgate for that on iOS. As a result, the interest in sideloading things has been relegated to the most-open part of the OS; the browser. It's not surprising at all. Apple could be enabling a Cambrian explosion of open iPhone apps and killing the case for dinky webapps overnight. Their motivation not to is rooted in a company-wide strategy to make more service revenue.
  - palata 3y ago
    > If PWAs win, it will be because native apps failed. Or because the vast majority of people who "write code that runs on mobile phones" know web technologies and not the mobile ones. Web programming is simply more accessible. The thing is, "more" is not always "better".
    - smoldesu 3y ago
usrusr 3y ago
I expect PWA to remain noticeably limited relative to native, and probably with a noticeable gradient between Google and Apple. But I also expect PWA to steamroll all conventional app development nonetheless: PWA optionally bundled with some native components for filing the gaps, as in Tauri. Progressive will just grow another stage beyond manifest and serviceworker: manifest and serviceworker running in a customized variant of the browser installed through the app store.
- layer8 3y ago
  > a customized variant of the browser installed through the app store On iOS, apps can only run a single app instance. Which means that, if you want to run multiple PWAs in parallel, you’d need a separate browser app per PWA.
  - usrusr 3y ago
    A separate app per PWA that is little more than a tiny shim for whatever API Apple refuses to provide in the browser (many of them for very good reasons) and a script for spinning up another instance of the system browser with the API shims available. That's the Tauri model: you wouldn't install tens of browsers, but tens of configurations for the browser that is already there.
    - layer8 3y ago
      It means that the PWAs wouldn’t appear as separate apps, but as tabs within the same browser app. Also, unlike native PWAs, you couldn’t have per-PWA notification badges on the app icons (because there’s only one). A browser app could maybe emulate this by providing different widgets per PWA, but still it would be a less straightforward experience.
      - usrusr 3y ago
        On iOS, native app are not allowed to ship their own html renderer implementation and therefore have to delegate to the renderer provided by the OS. If that happens, does the markup appear as a view in the app instance, or does the content appear as a tab in the browser? I assume that it's the former. iOS Firefox is famously not gecko but a Firefox-flavored safari and if that would cause markup to appear as tabs in regular safari, FF-iOS would be little more than a URL bar. Each "PWA+" would be its own "safari dressed up as a different app", just like Firefox-flavored safari is. This was about "PWA+" installed from the app store, individually, just like you can install both FF-iOS and Chrome-iOS (and it's still hardly more than a parody of Microsoft's troubles with forcing internet explorer into win98). Conventional PWA that don't come packaged from the app store appear as tabs or as separate depending on whatever mood Apple had been in the last update cycle I guess.
NorwegianDude 3y ago
I think developers need to clearly put blame on Apple for PWA not working. In apps you're not allowed to mention apple's shady behaviour when it comes to fees, but on the web you can. Since 2016 I've had the option for users to enable push notifications, with a big red disclaimer if the user is using iOS that it does not work on an iPhone. Still, I got so so many requests from user saying they had tried with Chrome(or whatever other browser) instead, and it's still not working, not understanding that all browsers on iOS is limited in the same way because of apple. If there are any more problems with web push on iOS I'll clearly tell the user that Apple doesn't allow the user to use it, and that they will have to ask apple to enable it, and give them contact information. If the user bought the phone expecting web push to work then they can probably return it and buy an Android phone instead if the seller can't fix web push.
- palata 3y ago
  > I think developers need to clearly put blame on Apple for PWA not working. I think that developers need to choose technologies that work on the platform they want to support, instead of blaming the platform. It is totally valid for Apple to say "if you want to develop an iOS app, use the iOS native framework". > If the user bought the phone expecting web push to work then they can probably return it and buy an Android phone instead if the seller can't fix web push. Who sells an iPhone saying explicitly that web push works? I guess nobody (it would make no sense). If a user bought a phone expecting to be able to use it as a surfboard, they probably can NOT return it for that reason.
  - kyleee 3y ago
    The surfboard analogy is silly; it’s reasonable that the user expects the iPhone to be a general computing device (since it’s a powerful computer).
    - palata 3y ago
      I exaggerated to make my point. It's absolutely not reasonable to expect <arbitrary feature> to run on an iPhone. Otherwise I can extend it to anything. Would you say that "If the user bought the phone expecting to have root access then they can probably return it" is reasonable? If yes, just try to return your iPhone and see :-).
pomian 3y ago
For those of us who want to know, From Wikipedia: A progressive web application (PWA), or progressive web app, is a type of application software delivered through the web, built using common web technologies including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WebAssembly. It is intended to work on any platform with a standards-compliant browser, including desktop and mobile devices.
tadeegan 3y ago
How do you get ordinary people to install pwa. That’s my question…
- sccxy 3y ago
  On Android/Desktop, you can add the "install" button inside your app to start the installation flow.
yesimahuman 3y ago
You know it's not PWA or pure native app, right? There are many other options, including Capacitor which will let you use most of your web code but get native platform access.
cma 3y ago
> That means that if you’re viewing a chat thread on your PWA and you get a new message, you can’t suppress the new-message push. This is incredibly annoying for users. Am I confused, or can't you just have the client tell the server you are viewing the thread, and suppress the push at the server side? If everything is encrypted maybe it reveals a bit of extra metadata about what you are looking at at the time though. They went with a 10 second delay or something, but just keeping track of the user's state could be easier (you might have connectivity gaps, requiring some keepalive logic too and then something like the delay to avoid spamming them with notifications they didn't need).
willsmith72 3y ago
A better title would've been, "PWAs aren't a replacement for native iOS apps right now" The drawbacks in the article are good to know, but in my circles it's common knowledge that Apple is putting less than 0 effort into supporting them. Right now, they are absolutely not a drop-in replacement for a native app But that says nothing about the future. In 10 years, why should we still be building separate apps per platform when we have an amazing and open web? The losers are the app stores, because it gets harder to take their cut. As PWAs get closer to feature parity, and once apple gives up their horrendous pushback, it will only make more and more sense to ditch the native app
- imachine1980_ 3y ago
  They won't that's the point,why they do, even if we allow third party stores, apple will be still the defaut
shams93 3y ago
In the EU they are getting full chrome on ios, thus I imagine this means that Apple is allowing a chrome browser to handle PWAs.
- sccxy 3y ago
  No, this is exactly the reason to disable web apps. They do not allow Chrome to build too powerful apps outside of App Store.
mulmen 3y ago
I understand the benefits of PWAs for developers. Can someone explain to me the benefits for users? From a UX perspective how is a PWA superior to a native app?
- SirMaster 3y ago
  The benefit is my app exists. I'm not buying a mac or paying for an apple developer license, sorry.
- dot5xdev 3y ago
  For users, one of the ways PWAs are superior to native apps is that the user gets to use an app at all. It's hard to maintain 2 or 3 different codebases of an app, which means it might not get built at all. As a user, I'd rather use a decent app that exists, than not get to use an app at all.
- sccxy 3y ago
  No need to open App Store to download 100MB update every month.
- paulddraper 3y ago
  That the app exists.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
Molomby 3y ago
Side note but, man, I hate it when write ups like this refer to events in relative terms without including a published date... > Last month [...] > At the same time [...] > That was over 6 months ago [...] From when?!? What good is a relative timeline of events and your "current" thinking without a timestamp? Digging though the source, it looks like this is from a few days ago.. "created_at":"2024-02-14T01:45:45.254Z" /rant
deepfriedrice 3y ago
Anyone have experience with/opinions on Apache Cordova? [1] It seems like it would solve most of the PWA issues. Although I vaguely recall reading that Apple is not too fond of apps that are basically just wrapped web views. [1] https://cordova.apache.org/ https://cordova.apache.org/
timetraveller26 3y ago
Even tough my disdain for devs using Electron instead of developing native apps feels a like challenged with PWA's, I think that ultimately devs/users should have the option.
Razengan 3y ago
(Repeating a previous comment on another post) Browsers should only display documents, not apps. That's what operating systems are for. Just give native apps what made the web popular in the first place: • Ability to instantly launch any app just by typing its "name" • No need to download or install anything • Ability to revisit any part of an app just by copy/pasting some text and sharing it with anyone. That's what ultimately matters to end users.
tremarley 3y ago
Since iOS 17.4 for EU users 1. Apple will DELETE user's data without notice 2. Lot of apps will stop working and there will be no way to access them without update 3. Web Push will stop working; users expecting notifications will never get them 4. Apple breaks the Web platform This was published in the document "Update on apps distributed in the European Union" https://developer.apple.com/support/dma-and-apps-in-the-eu/ https://developer.apple.com/support/dma-and-apps-in-the-eu/

187 points by monkey_slap 3y ago

seems like minor annoyances rather than the deal breaker the headline insinuates

“There are no silent pushes, so we can only update the app icon badge with a displayed push. Ideally, if you clear your notifications elsewhere, we automatically remove the badge on your phone. This isn’t possible with PWAs via push.” Damn, is Apple doing these slight annoyances on purpose to degrade the user experience?

mmis1000 3y ago
Weird, I saw mdn says safari support silent property of notification constructor. Does the article specify how it didn't work? Like does nothing at at even specified. Work in browser but not pwa, and so on?
mvdtnz 3y ago
Yes. Obviously.
mass_and_energy 3y ago
Does the Tin Man have a sheet-metal willy? Of course they are, it's typical Apple behavior to make it seem that anything non-apple is flawed in one way or another. It's to foster negative opinions towards PWAs so they can peddle iOS apps instead.
blantonl 3y ago
is Apple doing these slight annoyances on purpose to degrade the user experience? It's to degrade the developer experience to force you to native apps and the app stores for distribution
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

hnav 3y ago

I'm sure Apple doesn't have a vested interest in making PWAs good, I am actually surprised they added webpush.

prophesi 3y ago

Found the article they linked[0] much more interesting / problematic: > Now, when a user in Europe taps a web app icon, they will see a system message asking if they wish to open it in Safari or cancel. The message adds that the web app "will open in your default browser from now on." When opened in Safari, the web app opens like a bookmark, with no dedicated windowing, notifications, or long-term local storage. Users have seen issues with existing web apps such as data loss, since the Safari version can no longer access local data, as well as broken notifications. [0] https://www.macrumors.com/2024/02/08/ios-17-4-nerfs-web-apps-in-the-eu/ https://www.macrumors.com/2024/02/08/ios-17-4-nerfs-web-apps...

hmottestad 3y ago
That sucks. I use PWAs a lot for my own dev stuff. Let’s hope Apple roles back this change.
deergomoo 3y ago
I expect this is because they have to provide equal standing to other browsers in both user choice and rendering engine, but they don’t have to and have not provided a way to use an alternative browser in the full-screen PWA mode. Of course, there are numerous ways this could be addressed, such as not changing anything at all if the user chose Safari as their default browser anyway. But it seems quite clear Apple is willing to drag everyone down with them in their malicious compliance of the DMA.
freedomben 3y ago
I'm guessing they were only doing the little they did for PWAs to stave off anti-trust attention by being able to say "we're not gatekeepers. You can use the web," but now that the EU forced them allow alternative app stores, they don't want anybody using PWAs and they have no need for them anymore, so they're killing them.
- shuckles 3y ago
  Apple announced web apps on macOS as keynote feature last year where they have no anti-trust scrutiny. This theory has holes.

BandButcher 3y ago

Understandable... PWAs are ultimately an alternative path from traditional mobile apps which will take away money from apple/google. But as a web dev community we need to stand firm and build PWAs regardless. If we treat pwas on iOS like we did Internet explorer (i.e. giving it special attention and hack solutions as opposed to just not developing for it) we will lose the fight. I suggest you call out the issues with ios and put disclaimers on your app page saying what's not supported, or add taglines like "for the best experience, use <other broswer>". Apple can afford the dev work to update Safari or work with the standards committee, but im sure with their new vr goggles they will take the proprietary route

deergomoo 3y ago
> for the best experience, use <other broswer> In this case you’d need “use <other operating system>”. There’s no alternatives to Safari for PWAs on iOS.
- blantonl 3y ago
  This is unfortunately correct. Chrome on iOS uses Safari's Webkit, which is horribly broken on <insert here> things.
- mkreis 3y ago
  That just changed in the EU: https://developer.apple.com/support/alternative-browser-engines/ https://developer.apple.com/support/alternative-browser-engi...
  - deergomoo 3y ago
    As did the ability to install PWAs. It appears to be gone in the EU in the latest builds of iOS.
mulmen 3y ago
“Am I wrong? No, it is the users who are wrong.”
3y ago

hmottestad 3y ago

I love developing PWAs because I can quickly and easily make an app for myself and my family that works without having to provision their devices or pay a dev license to Apple. I also use it at work for internal apps. It’s great for all those things. It’s very obvious to me that I’m a second priority for Apple. Dark mode breaking in iOS 17 and still broken 5 months later. Updating the app is tricky, and making users update is even trickier. Haven’t even bothered to try push notifications. One pro though is that when my brother wanted to use a PWA I had developed it worked flawlessly on his Android phone. Cross platform support is a big pro in my opinion. Maybe Apple will fix dark mode with iOS 18, let’s hope they also fix it when using guided access (which was buggy in iOS 16).

hmottestad 3y ago
Looks like Apple is going to fix dark mode in iOS 18 by dropping support for PWAs altogether in my part of the world. https://www.macrumors.com/2024/02/08/ios-17-4-nerfs-web-apps-in-the-eu/ https://www.macrumors.com/2024/02/08/ios-17-4-nerfs-web-apps...
- hmottestad 3y ago
  Looks like Apple is just going to blame the EU. They are officially pulling PWA support on iOS in Europe. So fuck me I guess :( https://9to5mac.com/2024/02/15/ios-17-4-web-apps-european-union/ https://9to5mac.com/2024/02/15/ios-17-4-web-apps-european-un...
  - CharlesW 3y ago
    You seem to be conflating "PWA" with the Safari + Home Screen integration that allowed users to add a web[site|app] (PWA or not) to the iOS Home Screen. Apple had to remove this to comply with the DMA. It's now the responsibility of alternative browser engine vendors to integrate with Shortcuts so that you can add PWAs and other web[sites|apps] to the Home Screen using your browser engine of choice. The additional benefit of this is that different PWAs can use different browser engines.

psnehanshu 3y ago

And what is the state of PWAs on Android? Is it any better?

rpdillon 3y ago
Yes. Google Chrome has support and documentation on Android: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/9658361?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/9658361?hl=en&co=GE... Mozilla has documentation about PWAs across many platforms, including Android: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Progressive_web_apps/Guides/Making_PWAs_installable https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Progressive_web... Mozilla's docs are very clear in defining what makes a PWA special: > One of the defining aspects of a PWA is that it can be promoted by the browser for installation on the device. Once installed, a PWA appears to users as a platform-specific app, a permanent feature of their device which they can launch directly from the operating system like any other app. This is precisely what Apple is breaking for iPhone users in the EU.
- robertoandred 3y ago
  Mozilla's docs are also out of date. Safari on desktop can install PWAs.
monkey_slap 3y ago
It's much better, but most of our users are on iPhones. The one (yes, one) Android PWA user is really happy. Probably the best part about PWAs on Android is that you install it more like an actual app. iOS still makes you "Add to Home Screen" which is very unintuitive.
hardcopy 3y ago
It's night and day. For example: - Installing a PWA from Firefox browser adds to home screen with Firefox engine - beforeinstallprompt event https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Window/beforeinstallprompt_event https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Window/befo...
paulddraper 3y ago

BadHumans 3y ago

Despite my best efforts and I still have no idea what a Progressive Web App is and why I need to use one. Seems like it's just a website that fits a certain accessibility criteria. It also seems like a hassle to get working correctly offline based on what I have read.

xd1936 3y ago
You can think of it like a web app that's been coded to have extra features when "added to the homescreen". When added, the app can work offline, doesn't have an address bar/back button/etc, gets the ability to access device sensors, can send push notifications, etc. A well-made PWA usually looks and feels just like a native app.
- BadHumans 3y ago
  What if I only want an app that works offline? Is there a reason to use a PWA? For example, I want to make a simple notes app that has no reason to need connectivity.
  - usrusr 3y ago
    If you don't have a complete Apple development environment, PWA is the best shot you have getting that little offline note taking to run on an iPhone.
    - BadHumans 3y ago
      That's not what I'm asking about. Whether it's Apple, Android, or desktop, if I just want to make an offline app why would I use a PWA?
      - usrusr 3y ago
        If you only want to target one platform, and if you are already completely set up for native development for that platform, then yes, there's nothing to gain from going PWA instead of native. Other than the learning experience of course, which you might consider valuable unless know for sure that all your future projects will remain on that one single platform.

sccxy 3y ago

Apple has confirmed that PWAs will be just a browser bookmarks from now on. Other browsers won't also have access to add (actual, not bookmark) PWAs. That is the main reason to not allow them. If other browsers can add powerful PWAs then it competes with App Store.

MilaM 3y ago
> If other browsers can add powerful PWAs then it competes with App Store. This is exactly it. If they can't have full control over how PWAs work, they prefer to cut the feature out of iOS.

AshleysBrain 3y ago

I think this is more an illustration of how Apple are intentionally trying to hobble web apps so they can continue to tax all transactions on the app store, than any kind of issue with web technology itself. If Apple implemented the necessary features and fixed the bugs, it could well be a strong alternative to a native app. But they make money from preventing that and are doing everything they can to prevent other browsers from implementing quality PWA support.

mvdtnz 3y ago

The solution is simple beyond belief. Stop supporting Apple devices.

deergomoo 3y ago
Simple != feasible. Apple devices are where the majority of money is spent on mobile. People are not going to switch to Android if your software isn’t available on iOS, they’re going to move to a competitor that is.
andix 3y ago
Last time I looked into alternatives (it’s been a while) there was no manufacturer that provided updates to latest Android without any delays for longer than 2 years. And manufacturers constantly broke their promise to keep delivering updates as long as possible. I usually buy 2 year old high end iPhones. So this is very relevant for me. Also from an ecological perspective, smartphones should last at least 5 years.
- layer8 3y ago
  Smartphones are now required by the EU to provide updates for five years. Samsung even promises seven years now.
  - andix 3y ago
    I guess only security updates are mandated. With an iPhone you always get the newest version of iOS and many/most new features, not just some patches.
    - layer8 3y ago
      No, besides security updates the regulation also covers corrective updates (i.e. bugfixes) and functionality updates for “the same OS”. Personally I would actually prefer stability over having the system and UI changing every year, and getting slower every year on older hardware.
- 3y ago

meindnoch 3y ago

As an iOS user, I'm glad.

sccxy 3y ago
As an iOS user you would also prefer only Apple accepted websites in browser?
- mulmen 3y ago
  If I squint Apple didn’t allow sites with Flash. I was and still am happy with the outcome in that case.
- meindnoch 3y ago
  Like not allowing Flash or Java applets or Silverlight (lol)? Yes, I'm happy with that. But if at any point I become unhappy, I'll buy a different phone.

mrcwinn 3y ago

PWAs will never be as good as native, definitionally. There is always API drift. There is always runtime cost. Nothing inside a system can ever have parity with its parent container. If it could, it would be the system itself. People's experience with hardware and physical objects matters. If you accept that, you should always want to be closer to the metal at the cost of convenience or portability.

palata 3y ago
I don't understand why you got downvoted for this. Cross-platform is never as good as native, but in some situations it is cheaper. And there is a need for "cheaper but not as good" (we don't all drive a Porsche, do we?).
- matwood 3y ago
  There are constant complaints about electron apps being bad and people wanting native apps, except in the case of PWAs. I can't keep all the complaining straight lol
  - addicted 3y ago
    Electron apps are getting much better. VS Code is considered the best app in its class by a distant margin and it’s an electron app. The first round of Electron apps were created by people who were simply trying to get some cross platform native version of their apps out. It’s only been recently that companies are now creating electron apps as first class products and now those apps are doing very well.
    - fiddlerwoaroof 3y ago
      The popularity of VSCode is mystifying to me: IntelliJ is a much nicer application and VSCode always ends up lagging randomly for me.
      - palata 3y ago

breadchris 3y ago

"you must show the notification when you receive it", is it not possible to filter the notifications on the server before sending them down?

franky47 3y ago
That's what they did. 10 second delay before sending out a "new message" notification to give it time to be marked as read.

_cenw 3y ago

Apple just confirmed PWA functionality is being cut in the EU, because they would otherwise "favor Safari". This is so clearly bullshit malicious pettyness at the cost of their users to get back at EU regulators, I'd like to return my iPhone now, please. This is like being out with your friends while they're having the beginnings of a breakup.

andix 3y ago

PWAs will only replace native apps when the operating systems support them properly. Let's see how the European Union moves forward with the Digital Markets Act. Let's see if a regulation like that can tame Apple, or if Apple keeps finding loop holes to not fully comply in the intended way (to liberate the European market from oligopolist gate keeping companies). If it works there might be a further revision that forces Apple to support PWAs. And on the long run I don't think they will limit those features just to the European market. Once alternative browser engines and alternative app stores arrive, it might be possible to provide an app store that just wraps any known PWA into a native iOS app and runs them inside a Chromium browser. With full PWA support. Like the Microsoft store does. You can just register your PWA there and it will show up in the store, they even had the plan to scan the web for PWAs and put them in the store even if the author didn't register it. I don't know if they ever followed though with that plan. One positive mention: I recently switched my PWAs on Windows to Edge, and it's the best PWA experience I've ever had on any platform. A good PWA feels 98% like a native application.

sccxy 3y ago
If your free app will get popular with new rules then your free app will cost a lot for a developer. For example 2.5M installs/updates a year will cost you Total monthly fees $ 67,935 https://developer.apple.com/support/fee-calculator-for-apps-in-the-eu/ https://developer.apple.com/support/fee-calculator-for-apps-...
- andix 3y ago
  It looks like Apple found a loop hole. I don’t think this loop hole will stay open for long. Edit: I really think that we will soon get an addendum to this law that will limit those fees. In a similar way mobile phone roaming fees got regulated.
  - threeseed 3y ago
    There is no loop hole. Apple is able to charge a per-sale license fee for using their SDKs same as Epic, Microsoft etc. There isn't a single court or government in the world who has disagreed with this.

LorenDB 3y ago

Maybe we should be pushing for fewer PWAs overall. I personally will not use any web-based app when I can use a native app (with a few exceptions). PWAs just add unnecessary bloat, and the current HTML/CSS/JS stack that the web uses was designed for delivering text documents, not apps, so that inherently limits the experience.

mvdtnz 3y ago
I personally will not use any native app when I can use a web app
- theshackleford 3y ago
  I personally will not use any web app when I can use a native app.
deergomoo 3y ago
I’m 50/50 on this: if I care about something enough to install it rather than going to a website, I’ll take a half decent native app over a PWA any day, even without the gimping on Apple’s part. Truly native anyway; I have a strong dislike for stuff like Flutter both conceptually and in practice. But I also consider Apple’s iron grip on the platform to be against the spirit of computing, and I think having a viable alternative is important. I think there is a segment of software that would benefit from a nice PWA, but where two native apps would not really be worth anyone’s time.
- palata 3y ago
  > But I also consider Apple’s iron grip on the platform to be against the spirit of computing But the problem here is the App Store, right? Both native iOS apps and PWAs need access to the hardware, which is provided by Apple. Really my understanding is that people push hard for PWAs either because they want to work around the App Store, or because they are web dev (and every dev tends to be imperialist with their favourite language, that's not only a web thing).

palata 3y ago

In my opinion, it is always the same "cross-platform" discussion. If you hire an iOS/Android mobile dev to write a native iOS/Android app, it means that you hire someone specialized in apps for mobiles. The whole point of a cross-platform framework is the hope that it won't need the specialization: "any web dev can now write a mobile app". But every cross-platform framework has the same problem: platforms are different, and require work specific to them. As a result, cross-platform is "write once, debug everywhere". If you don't know better, cross-platform frameworks systematically seem to "get to the same result faster". So many companies go for cross-platform frameworks. But in reality, the different platforms are so different that the only way to make a truly great app is to go native everywhere. Not that there is not a place for PWAs: "cheaper but not as good" is clearly the trend everywhere. But I don't see PWAs replace "great native apps" anytime soon. If PWAs win, it will just mean that the users got worse apps because the companies spent less money on them.

smoldesu 3y ago
> If PWAs win, it will just mean that the users got worse apps If PWAs win, it will be because native apps failed. Android and MacOS both have an enormous community of open source native apps that are more private, functional and accountable than their commercial alternatives. So far, Apple hasn't opened the floodgate for that on iOS. As a result, the interest in sideloading things has been relegated to the most-open part of the OS; the browser. It's not surprising at all. Apple could be enabling a Cambrian explosion of open iPhone apps and killing the case for dinky webapps overnight. Their motivation not to is rooted in a company-wide strategy to make more service revenue.
- palata 3y ago
  > If PWAs win, it will be because native apps failed. Or because the vast majority of people who "write code that runs on mobile phones" know web technologies and not the mobile ones. Web programming is simply more accessible. The thing is, "more" is not always "better".
  - smoldesu 3y ago

usrusr 3y ago

I expect PWA to remain noticeably limited relative to native, and probably with a noticeable gradient between Google and Apple. But I also expect PWA to steamroll all conventional app development nonetheless: PWA optionally bundled with some native components for filing the gaps, as in Tauri. Progressive will just grow another stage beyond manifest and serviceworker: manifest and serviceworker running in a customized variant of the browser installed through the app store.

layer8 3y ago
> a customized variant of the browser installed through the app store On iOS, apps can only run a single app instance. Which means that, if you want to run multiple PWAs in parallel, you’d need a separate browser app per PWA.
- usrusr 3y ago
  A separate app per PWA that is little more than a tiny shim for whatever API Apple refuses to provide in the browser (many of them for very good reasons) and a script for spinning up another instance of the system browser with the API shims available. That's the Tauri model: you wouldn't install tens of browsers, but tens of configurations for the browser that is already there.
  - layer8 3y ago
    It means that the PWAs wouldn’t appear as separate apps, but as tabs within the same browser app. Also, unlike native PWAs, you couldn’t have per-PWA notification badges on the app icons (because there’s only one). A browser app could maybe emulate this by providing different widgets per PWA, but still it would be a less straightforward experience.
    - usrusr 3y ago
      On iOS, native app are not allowed to ship their own html renderer implementation and therefore have to delegate to the renderer provided by the OS. If that happens, does the markup appear as a view in the app instance, or does the content appear as a tab in the browser? I assume that it's the former. iOS Firefox is famously not gecko but a Firefox-flavored safari and if that would cause markup to appear as tabs in regular safari, FF-iOS would be little more than a URL bar. Each "PWA+" would be its own "safari dressed up as a different app", just like Firefox-flavored safari is. This was about "PWA+" installed from the app store, individually, just like you can install both FF-iOS and Chrome-iOS (and it's still hardly more than a parody of Microsoft's troubles with forcing internet explorer into win98). Conventional PWA that don't come packaged from the app store appear as tabs or as separate depending on whatever mood Apple had been in the last update cycle I guess.

NorwegianDude 3y ago

I think developers need to clearly put blame on Apple for PWA not working. In apps you're not allowed to mention apple's shady behaviour when it comes to fees, but on the web you can. Since 2016 I've had the option for users to enable push notifications, with a big red disclaimer if the user is using iOS that it does not work on an iPhone. Still, I got so so many requests from user saying they had tried with Chrome(or whatever other browser) instead, and it's still not working, not understanding that all browsers on iOS is limited in the same way because of apple. If there are any more problems with web push on iOS I'll clearly tell the user that Apple doesn't allow the user to use it, and that they will have to ask apple to enable it, and give them contact information. If the user bought the phone expecting web push to work then they can probably return it and buy an Android phone instead if the seller can't fix web push.

palata 3y ago
> I think developers need to clearly put blame on Apple for PWA not working. I think that developers need to choose technologies that work on the platform they want to support, instead of blaming the platform. It is totally valid for Apple to say "if you want to develop an iOS app, use the iOS native framework". > If the user bought the phone expecting web push to work then they can probably return it and buy an Android phone instead if the seller can't fix web push. Who sells an iPhone saying explicitly that web push works? I guess nobody (it would make no sense). If a user bought a phone expecting to be able to use it as a surfboard, they probably can NOT return it for that reason.
- kyleee 3y ago
  The surfboard analogy is silly; it’s reasonable that the user expects the iPhone to be a general computing device (since it’s a powerful computer).
  - palata 3y ago
    I exaggerated to make my point. It's absolutely not reasonable to expect <arbitrary feature> to run on an iPhone. Otherwise I can extend it to anything. Would you say that "If the user bought the phone expecting to have root access then they can probably return it" is reasonable? If yes, just try to return your iPhone and see :-).

pomian 3y ago

For those of us who want to know, From Wikipedia: A progressive web application (PWA), or progressive web app, is a type of application software delivered through the web, built using common web technologies including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WebAssembly. It is intended to work on any platform with a standards-compliant browser, including desktop and mobile devices.

tadeegan 3y ago

How do you get ordinary people to install pwa. That’s my question…

sccxy 3y ago
On Android/Desktop, you can add the "install" button inside your app to start the installation flow.

yesimahuman 3y ago

You know it's not PWA or pure native app, right? There are many other options, including Capacitor which will let you use most of your web code but get native platform access.

cma 3y ago

> That means that if you’re viewing a chat thread on your PWA and you get a new message, you can’t suppress the new-message push. This is incredibly annoying for users. Am I confused, or can't you just have the client tell the server you are viewing the thread, and suppress the push at the server side? If everything is encrypted maybe it reveals a bit of extra metadata about what you are looking at at the time though. They went with a 10 second delay or something, but just keeping track of the user's state could be easier (you might have connectivity gaps, requiring some keepalive logic too and then something like the delay to avoid spamming them with notifications they didn't need).

willsmith72 3y ago

A better title would've been, "PWAs aren't a replacement for native iOS apps right now" The drawbacks in the article are good to know, but in my circles it's common knowledge that Apple is putting less than 0 effort into supporting them. Right now, they are absolutely not a drop-in replacement for a native app But that says nothing about the future. In 10 years, why should we still be building separate apps per platform when we have an amazing and open web? The losers are the app stores, because it gets harder to take their cut. As PWAs get closer to feature parity, and once apple gives up their horrendous pushback, it will only make more and more sense to ditch the native app

imachine1980_ 3y ago
They won't that's the point,why they do, even if we allow third party stores, apple will be still the defaut

shams93 3y ago

In the EU they are getting full chrome on ios, thus I imagine this means that Apple is allowing a chrome browser to handle PWAs.

sccxy 3y ago
No, this is exactly the reason to disable web apps. They do not allow Chrome to build too powerful apps outside of App Store.

mulmen 3y ago

I understand the benefits of PWAs for developers. Can someone explain to me the benefits for users? From a UX perspective how is a PWA superior to a native app?

SirMaster 3y ago
The benefit is my app exists. I'm not buying a mac or paying for an apple developer license, sorry.
dot5xdev 3y ago
For users, one of the ways PWAs are superior to native apps is that the user gets to use an app at all. It's hard to maintain 2 or 3 different codebases of an app, which means it might not get built at all. As a user, I'd rather use a decent app that exists, than not get to use an app at all.
sccxy 3y ago
No need to open App Store to download 100MB update every month.
paulddraper 3y ago
That the app exists.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

Molomby 3y ago

Side note but, man, I hate it when write ups like this refer to events in relative terms without including a published date... > Last month [...] > At the same time [...] > That was over 6 months ago [...] From when?!? What good is a relative timeline of events and your "current" thinking without a timestamp? Digging though the source, it looks like this is from a few days ago.. "created_at":"2024-02-14T01:45:45.254Z" /rant

deepfriedrice 3y ago

Anyone have experience with/opinions on Apache Cordova? [1] It seems like it would solve most of the PWA issues. Although I vaguely recall reading that Apple is not too fond of apps that are basically just wrapped web views. [1] https://cordova.apache.org/ https://cordova.apache.org/

timetraveller26 3y ago

Even tough my disdain for devs using Electron instead of developing native apps feels a like challenged with PWA's, I think that ultimately devs/users should have the option.

Razengan 3y ago

(Repeating a previous comment on another post) Browsers should only display documents, not apps. That's what operating systems are for. Just give native apps what made the web popular in the first place: • Ability to instantly launch any app just by typing its "name" • No need to download or install anything • Ability to revisit any part of an app just by copy/pasting some text and sharing it with anyone. That's what ultimately matters to end users.

tremarley 3y ago

Since iOS 17.4 for EU users 1. Apple will DELETE user's data without notice 2. Lot of apps will stop working and there will be no way to access them without update 3. Web Push will stop working; users expecting notifications will never get them 4. Apple breaks the Web platform This was published in the document "Update on apps distributed in the European Union" https://developer.apple.com/support/dma-and-apps-in-the-eu/ https://developer.apple.com/support/dma-and-apps-in-the-eu/