Will your web app stop working on iPhones in March?
Update: Apple backed off of their plans to break PWAs. More details from the OWA.
In a little over a week, the deadline for compliance with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) will arrive and with it an uncertain future for progressive web apps. The DMA forces gatekeepers like Apple to open up their platforms to competition. This means that for the first time, browser engines other than Safari’s WebKit will be allowed on iOS.
But the situation isn’t as simple as it seems. Apple is also removing access to Home Screen web apps for all browsers including Safari. This may mean that existing web apps that rely on Home Screen web app features will no longer work as intended in just a matter of days.
To help us understand what is happening and what developers may be able to do about it, we spoke to Bruce Lawson from the Open Web Advocacy (OWA) group on the latest edition of Fourcast. The OWA has released an open letter to Tim Cook that you can sign.
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Articles and websites referenced in the interview:
Jason Grigsby is one of the co-founders of Cloud Four, Mobile Portland and Responsive Field Day. He is the author of Progressive Web Apps from A Book Apart. Follow him at @grigs.