Apple will allow third-party browsers in the European Union to create web apps for the iPhone home screen using their own custom engines when iOS 18.2 launches later this year.

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This extends to changes introduced in iOS 17.4, which for the first time allowed third-party EU browsers to use non-WebKit engines for standalone browsers and app navigation. Previously, Apple required all iOS browsers to use Safari’s WebKit engine, including popular options like Chrome and Firefox.

According to new documentation on Apple’s developer website spotted by 9to5MacThe upcoming API will be exclusive to the EU and will allow web applications to use the same custom engine as their parent browser.

The change follows Apple reversing an earlier decision to remove support for web apps on EU devices entirely – a move that sparked scrutiny from the European Commission. However, although Apple announced support for alternative browser engines such as Chrome’s Blink and Firefox’s Gecko in January, these have yet to appear on iPhones.

iOS 18.2 will bring additional EU-specific changes, including the ability to completely remove core apps like the App Store, Safari, Messages, Camera, and Photos. Outside the EU, the update will introduce new Apple Intelligence features such as ChatGPT integration with Siri, Image Playground, custom Genmoji, Visual Intelligence, improved writing tools, and expanded language support. For all the details, don’t miss our iOS 18.2 beta 1 roundup.

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