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This isn't really true any more. Apple requires their competitors' browser apps to use a 'webview' to display websites, and Safari does not use this. The iOS we

This isn't really true any more. Apple requires their competitors' browser apps to use a 'webview' to display websites, and Safari does not use this. The iOS webview may share a layout/paint engine with Safari, but it is heavily restricted in other ways. Apps with webviews (like Chrome for iOS) can't have extensions, for example. But the subtlest, cleverest restriction is that webviews are forced to use an older and slower JavaScript engine. This ensures that websites feel a little slower in Apple's competitors' browsers. Another major upshot of this is non-Apple browsers can't offer the same modern JavaScript APIs to websites as Safari can. For example, last time I checked, 'getUserMedia' was not available on iOS outside Safari, meaning non-Apple browsers can't support web-based video conferencing tools like Jitsi. This also implies that websites running in non-Apple browsers won't necessarily have access to the APIs necessary request Face ID sign-in, unless Apple decides it is in their interests to make this available to webviews.

untog 6y ago
> But the subtlest, cleverest restriction is that webviews are forced to use an older and slower JavaScript engine. AFAIK that hasn't been true for years. WKWebView (as opposed to the old UIWebView) lets you use the full speed JS engine.
- playpause 6y ago
  Ah, just googled it, you're right, they did eventually make the Nitro engine available in webviews. But my main point is that it's not exactly the same, they restrict certain features, and so it should never be expected that modern functionality will work in webviews just because it works in Safari.
  - selykg 6y ago
    > they restrict certain features, and so it should never be expected that modern functionality will work in webviews just because it works in Safari. Questioning this because you were just proven wrong once, do you have a source that confirms what you're saying?
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
aaomidi 6y ago
Interesting, thank you for the information!

untog 6y ago

> But the subtlest, cleverest restriction is that webviews are forced to use an older and slower JavaScript engine. AFAIK that hasn't been true for years. WKWebView (as opposed to the old UIWebView) lets you use the full speed JS engine.

playpause 6y ago
Ah, just googled it, you're right, they did eventually make the Nitro engine available in webviews. But my main point is that it's not exactly the same, they restrict certain features, and so it should never be expected that modern functionality will work in webviews just because it works in Safari.
- selykg 6y ago
  > they restrict certain features, and so it should never be expected that modern functionality will work in webviews just because it works in Safari. Questioning this because you were just proven wrong once, do you have a source that confirms what you're saying?
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]

aaomidi 6y ago

Interesting, thank you for the information!