Last year, Apple introduced the ability to add web apps to the iOS home screen with third-party web browsers. This is a feature that was previously limited to Safari. However, these web apps still rely on Apple’s WebKit. But Apple is trying to change that with iOS 18.2, at least for certain groups of users.
Updates for third-party browsers and web apps on iOS
With the developer release of the first beta of iOS 18.2 on Wednesday, Apple is documenting a new API that allows third-party browsers to add web apps to the iPhone home screen using their own custom engines. has been published. This means that the entire web app experience runs using the same engine as the browser it’s added to.
Of course, there are pitfalls. Currently, only web browsers distributed within the EU can be equipped with custom engines. In other parts of the world, Apple still requires a web browser that uses Safari’s WebKit on iPhones and iPads. Naturally, the new API for web apps is also only available in the EU.
Interestingly, Apple even considered removing support for web apps on the home screen of iOS devices in the EU. However, the EU Commission announced that it would investigate such a decision, prompting Apple to backtrack and keep its web apps in the EU.
Related to this, iOS 18.2 also adds new APIs that allow developers to integrate Apple Intelligence Writing Tools into apps with custom text engines. Currently, writing tools are only available for apps that use the system’s default text engine.
iOS 18.2 details
iOS 18.2 provides additional Apple Intelligence features. This includes Image Playground, Genmoji, ChatGPT integration, and Visual Search on iPhone 16 models.
At this time, iOS 18.2 beta is only available on devices compatible with Apple Intelligence. That means iPhone 15 Pro or newer and M1 iPad or newer. Of course, this update will eventually be available on other devices as well. Apple has previously indicated that iOS 18.2 will be generally available in December.
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