5 ms·

Are the apps actually uninstalled for real, or does the system just hide them to create the same appearance as uninstalling to satisfy legal requirements?

amelius 2y ago
I suspect that Safari is still needed as a "webview" component for various services.
- wslh 2y ago
  It is the reverse... Safari uses the webview.
  - amelius 2y ago
    Maybe but that's just semantics.
    - saurik 2y ago
      Sort of? Like, the way it at least used to work, is that there was a MobileSafari.app that used the UIWebDocument class from UIKit.framework and which in turn used WebKit. I don't think anyone is expecting Apple to uninstall the UI widgets that are being used by numerous existing third-party applications, and yet it is still meaningful to be able to delete the Safari "app".
    - sleepybrett 2y ago
      It's not. None of the UI is present in webview. Webview is just the 'rendering pane'.
    - wslh 2y ago
      No, it is not. Just create an app in Xcode and see that you have a WebView component. Easy to check: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/webkit/webview https://developer.apple.com/documentation/webkit/webview
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - leoh 2y ago
    This is correct and I don’t understand why it is being downvoted at all. WebKit is a framework, Safari is an application that uses that framework.
  - EasyMark 2y ago
    Don’t they use a more cutting edge/faster version of webview and other browsers like firefox/chrome/brave get an older less optimized version?
    - wslh 2y ago
      Yes, (search) indeed they use WebKit [1] [2]. You also have the option to use WKWebView. But in this context you should use WKWebView if you want to access WebKit as a developer and be able to publish in the App Store. If you don't need to be accepted in the App Store you can use WebKit compiling it from the source. [1] https://webkit.org/blog/15443/news-from-wwdc24-webkit-in-safari-18-beta/ https://webkit.org/blog/15443/news-from-wwdc24-webkit-in-saf... [2] https://developer.apple.com/documentation/webkit https://developer.apple.com/documentation/webkit
- space_oddity 2y ago
  I have the same suspicion
gjsman-1000 2y ago
They are part of the iOS System partition, so almost certainly just hidden. Considering that the entire point is to improve competitiveness, hidden is almost certainly good enough, as it's not the EU's job to be disk space czars.
- vlovich123 2y ago
  Beyond just that, if you uninstall the app store, how would you get it back without it already being available on-device? You'd probably need Safari but then if that's removed too? > Apps that are removed, such as the App Store , can be re-downloaded using an "App Installation" section in the Settings app. Whether that's really a redownload or restore from disk cache probably doesn't matter unless the EU starts to argue that it being available with 0 latency from disk is a competitive advantage.
  - gjsman-1000 2y ago
    [flagged]
  - eviks 2y ago
    > if you uninstall the app store, how would you get it back without it already being available on-device via a different install mechanism? How do you install Windows apps without MS store?
    - Almondsetat 2y ago
      What does Windows have to do with this?
      - eviks 2y ago
        It serves as an example of what is possible
        vlovich123 2y ago
        Or you know, just keep it around on disk without removing it fully. The bigger issue is I’m surprised they’re being allowed to remain the default. I wonder why the different tack vs what they forced Windows to do with IE in Europe.

amelius 2y ago

I suspect that Safari is still needed as a "webview" component for various services.

wslh 2y ago
It is the reverse... Safari uses the webview.
- amelius 2y ago
  Maybe but that's just semantics.
  - saurik 2y ago
    Sort of? Like, the way it at least used to work, is that there was a MobileSafari.app that used the UIWebDocument class from UIKit.framework and which in turn used WebKit. I don't think anyone is expecting Apple to uninstall the UI widgets that are being used by numerous existing third-party applications, and yet it is still meaningful to be able to delete the Safari "app".
  - sleepybrett 2y ago
    It's not. None of the UI is present in webview. Webview is just the 'rendering pane'.
  - wslh 2y ago
    No, it is not. Just create an app in Xcode and see that you have a WebView component. Easy to check: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/webkit/webview https://developer.apple.com/documentation/webkit/webview
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- leoh 2y ago
  This is correct and I don’t understand why it is being downvoted at all. WebKit is a framework, Safari is an application that uses that framework.
- EasyMark 2y ago
  Don’t they use a more cutting edge/faster version of webview and other browsers like firefox/chrome/brave get an older less optimized version?
  - wslh 2y ago
    Yes, (search) indeed they use WebKit [1] [2]. You also have the option to use WKWebView. But in this context you should use WKWebView if you want to access WebKit as a developer and be able to publish in the App Store. If you don't need to be accepted in the App Store you can use WebKit compiling it from the source. [1] https://webkit.org/blog/15443/news-from-wwdc24-webkit-in-safari-18-beta/ https://webkit.org/blog/15443/news-from-wwdc24-webkit-in-saf... [2] https://developer.apple.com/documentation/webkit https://developer.apple.com/documentation/webkit
space_oddity 2y ago
I have the same suspicion

gjsman-1000 2y ago

They are part of the iOS System partition, so almost certainly just hidden. Considering that the entire point is to improve competitiveness, hidden is almost certainly good enough, as it's not the EU's job to be disk space czars.

vlovich123 2y ago
Beyond just that, if you uninstall the app store, how would you get it back without it already being available on-device? You'd probably need Safari but then if that's removed too? > Apps that are removed, such as the App Store , can be re-downloaded using an "App Installation" section in the Settings app. Whether that's really a redownload or restore from disk cache probably doesn't matter unless the EU starts to argue that it being available with 0 latency from disk is a competitive advantage.
- gjsman-1000 2y ago
  [flagged]
- eviks 2y ago
  > if you uninstall the app store, how would you get it back without it already being available on-device via a different install mechanism? How do you install Windows apps without MS store?
  - Almondsetat 2y ago
    What does Windows have to do with this?
    - eviks 2y ago
      It serves as an example of what is possible
      - vlovich123 2y ago
        Or you know, just keep it around on disk without removing it fully. The bigger issue is I’m surprised they’re being allowed to remain the default. I wonder why the different tack vs what they forced Windows to do with IE in Europe.