Is there any legitimate reason why all browsers on iOS *must* use Safari under the hood? I feel like its monopolistic af.
So youre saying unfair competition and dictator like control arent legitimate reasons?
There is no technical reason. Only policy.
Integrates with the password manager based on origin. I think historically, sharing of login cookies was also a concern. Safari and system libraries gets guaranteed security updates regularly, whereas 3rd party apps may not get rebuilt, and the attack surface is huge.
Yeah. There`s a super big reason. It`s kinda like why all PlayStations are incapable of running with any other browser. Monopolization and greed. Apple wants their OS their Browser their Store to pay them a percent for in app purchases that don`t do with them. Need I go on?
What is the technical benefit to use a different engine?
It *is* monopolistic. Google was fined because of Chrome but this seems not to be as important. For us web devs is sometimes a real pain.
JIT and the security side effects, you can creat an alternative engine but without JIT js will be dead slow.
Nope, just monopoly and control.
Oh, thanks Alex. Looks like today I learned.
The real reason is control, they want to control the types of software on their platform. 100%
I think the main principle is they don`t want any sort of "runtime environment" or "platform" that is under control of another party. That`s why no Flash, no Java, etc. Nobody-else`s-JS-engine is an extension of that.
Third-party apps may not download, install, or execute code which introduces or changes features or functionality of the app A web browser needs to download and execute arbitrary JS, which is a violation of this rule. Not an explanation for why, of course. Just context.
If other browsers were allowed, PWA`s would become much more attractive, which would mean less revenue through the App Store.
How many maintained rendering engines do you think are you there? It isn`t a lot
The technical reason is mostly that they dont want to allow for compilers in the binaries they allow people to use from App Store. This is partly due to security issues and partly to control the types of code people can ship.
I dont know but it might have to do with JavaScript engine making memory regions executable. That could be a security risk that theyre trying to restrict to a smaller surface area. Plus, its a great excuse to have total control over mobile web app experience and performance.
As the JS engine for iOS wasnt the fastest a Webview app or a PWA couldnt compete with native Apps. Which made the App Store more attractive. A different browser engine could circumvent this limitation.
For reference: Chrome on Android uses Blink, Firefox uses Gento and old default Android engine is actually WebKit :)
I dont know if its still the case, but originally the justification was that Apple wanted to ensure efficiency around memory and battery management.
Where did you get this information? Can you please elaborate. We already have Firefox, Chrome, Opera and probably many more. They all have their internal independent renderers.
I guess to keep the monopoly on code-executing-environments...
It gives me a sense of safety and privacy, but its still kinda wrong
Browsers are higher order than just a plain ol app. Theyre literally the gateway to the internet for most people. Constricting it is concerning.
Theyll probably say security, but it could be a lasting rule from Flash days
Well Apple is known for being very controlling
Because Apple good everything else bad yes
I meant WebKit but same point lol
Probably security or something like that
