Web Apps in iOS 26
Jen Simmons et al. (Mastodon):
For the last 17 years, if the website had the specific
metatag or Web Application Manifestdisplayvalue in it’s code, when a user added it to their Home Screen on iOS or iPadOS, tapping its icon opened it as a web app. If the website was not configured as such, tapping its icon opened the site in a browser. Users had no choice in the matter, nor visible way to understand why some sites behaved one way while others behaved another.On Mac, we took a different approach. When introducing Web Apps on Mac in Sep 2023, we made the decision to always open websites added to the Dock as web apps. It doesn’t matter whether or not the website has a Web Application Manifest. Users get a consistent experience. Add to Dock creates a web app.
Now, we are revising the behavior on iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. By default, every website added to the Home Screen opens as a web app. If the user prefers to add a bookmark for their browser, they can disable “Open as Web App” when adding to Home Screen — even if the site is configured to be a web app. The UI is always consistent, no matter how the site’s code is configured. And the power to define the experience is in the hands of users.
Previously:
- The Tyranny of Apps
- An Abridged History of Safari Showstoppers
- Safari 17 Web Apps
- Safari 17 Link Tracking Protection
3 Comments RSS · Twitter · Mastodon
"And the power to define the experience is in the hands of users."
As long as that experience doesn’t involve choosing an icon. Or a theme color. Or a scope. Or splash screens. Or context menu actions.
They’re celebrating what is basically the equivalent of a shortcut I hacked together in an afternoon two years ago:
Are we finally coming full circle due to regulation?
I still think this is mostly just a distraction from the app distribution argument.
Steve said apps aren't necessary because web apps can be made capable of doing all the same things. Then they apparently realized the benefit of control the App Store gives them, and so crippled web apps.
But now that apps are fully entrenched and it's clear that web apps will never be true compettiors, the most important thing is cutting off that alternate app distribution argument.
This is an improvement but there’s no way to enable extensions in a site that’s added to the home screen, like you can do for sites added to the Dock on macOS.
