iPhone users in the EU will get many new features due to legal necessity. Some are very powerful, others are downright bad news.
For weeks we've been anticipating iOS 17.4 to be a landmark update to iOS iPhone users in the European Union. It is in the ancient continent where we will receive many changes because New EU regulations Which means, among other things, the ability to get more app stores on iOS apart from the App Store.
One of the other changes that Apple had to make was in terms of opening up to other web browsing engines. As a fan of technology in general and Apple in particular, It's an update I'm looking forward to, although it will also include resignations Which, unfortunately, does not look like it will reverse in the short term.
Opening the doors to the App Store is a positive thing (even if it scares you)
One implication of European laws for Apple is that it must offer the ability to download apps in places other than just the App Store. Finally, it will not be done by downloading it from the Internet as well It happens on Android with APK filesbut the App Store will be opened to other stores.
As a result, over these weeks I've read and heard other enthusiasts complaining about the opening of the iOS Store. The fact that this is imposed rather than initiated by Apple is interesting, but this is completely different. Most complaints come from the privacy and security side, but the truth is that it doesn't have to mean anything negative.. Moreover, your iPhone won't change anything if you don't want it to. We will all be free to install or not install other stores, and therefore applications that are not normally present in the App Store.
Me as a user I think the more options we have, the better.. This encourages competition among developers and although not everyone will be able to upload their own store in the App Store due to Apple's economic requirements, they will be able to enter those other stores.
Facing a sea of uncertainty is something that motivates me. Because we already know that some stores like the Epic Store will come to iOS with this opening. However, there are still a lot of unknowns about what kind of new apps will appear on iOS. And I love that. Being able to explore those stores in search of hidden gems, always with caution, is something that always intrigues me.
Using another browser on the iPhone and making it really stand out is another highlight
Another interesting point I already mentioned in the introduction is that related to the browser. So far Safari comes by default, but that will change (if we want) with iOS 17.4. The first time we open this browser after the update, a screen will appear suggesting several options for using it as the default browser on iPhones, including Safari itself. We can choose another one and it will be downloaded and configured automatically as the default.
Apart from this, there are other positive effects for it Explore the limits of browsing on iOS. Browsers will no longer have to rely on WebKit, the application programming interface (API) for web browser development on iOS that has so far been the only way for any developer to launch their own web browsing app on iPhone.
Yes, we have many options like Google Chrome, Opera or Mozilla Firefox among many others for many years. However, since they all have the same Apple engine, they are ultimately still a type of tuned Safari. They can add some additional options and modify the interface somewhat, but at its core it is the same.
With iOS 17.4 we will now be able to find full browsers for every developer It could open the doors to making mobile browsers much closer to what we have on desktop. Take for example add-ons that already exist now, but in a much more limited way than in a computer browser.
The negative part is that we will say goodbye to web applications
As always, nothing is perfect. And even for me, who receives all this news in good spirit, there is no exception. With the previous point also comes End of support for PWAsthe English abbreviation for Progressive web applications Also known as web applications. These are present in almost any device, including iPhones (although they will disappear soon).
If you don't know what it is, It's a kind of “mini app” that runs over the web. It is ideal for developers who do not have enough resources to create an application, making it easy to create over the web with certain advantages over a traditional web page. You can also receive push notifications, which is something Apple introduced with iOS 16.4.
For the user, this also makes sense because they don't have to download an app and thus save space on the iPhone. In addition, you can Add it to your iPhone home screen as if it were just another appAlthough it runs with Safari in the background, it doesn't open directly in the browser. However, this is about to change.
We can always add bookmarks to the home screen, but they won't be the same, as they will open in the browser app.
Well, as we already know, Web applications will no longer be supported. The fact that each web browser developer will use their own architecture makes it impossible for Apple to support web apps (not even when using Safari). This is what the company itself announced In a note on their website to developers.
In my personal case, I realize that I have used web applications less and less, however I still have some things that need to disappear from my home screen. Since we updated to iOS 17.4, it won't work anymore. Although it is possible that they will return in the future, it is already seen as something complicated to implement by Apple. An alternative would be to add favorites to the home screen, although it's not the same.
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