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Apple's killing iPhone web apps

Apple's killing iPhone web apps

Steve Jobs wouldn't be happy about this.

Leander Kahney
February 16, 2024

Back in 2007, when Steve Jobs launched the iPhone, the Apple co-founder was dead set against third-party apps on the iPhone.

“Cingular doesn’t want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up,” he said.

Instead, Jobs talked up web apps. These are apps that are like mini websites. They can be installed on your iPhone, and act like a native app, but they run off the web. Amazon’s Luna cloud gaming is a web app, for example.

Your iPhone has supported web apps for many years, but you were possibly unaware. They never really took off.

And now Apple’s about to kill them off for good. Here’s why Apple is doing that, and why you shouldn’t really care (which you probably didn’t anyway!)

Also in today’s newsletter:

As readers of this newsletter already know, a lot of you are likely returning your Vision Pro headsets this weekend. Our shock poll on Wednesday showed a whopping 76% of respondents plan to return the device. The poll is totally unscientific, of course, but the numbers are still surprisingly high.
Yesterday’s poll (and readers’ responses to it) made me chuckle. See some below.
This cool Apple Watch band comes with its own built-in charger. Never lose power again.
If you’re not returning your Vision Pro, here’s how to make its Control Center less irritating.
This is one I might watch on Vision Pro (if I don’t return it!): Ridley Scott’s Napoleon. The epic is soon headed to Apple TV+.
Astropad Slate looks great. It’s an app that turns your iPad into a pseudo-Wacom tablet for drawing on a Mac.
And finally, have you ever seen a cooler Mac setup than this?

— Leander Kahney, EIC

Why you shouldn't care that Apple began phasing out web apps

Steve Jobs loved web apps, but Apple has started ending support for them. Here's why -- and why it doesn't matter.

Vision Pro poll: More than half of Cult of Mac readers will return 'magical' headset

Why do so many people plan to return Apple's headset? Our Vision Pro returns poll shows even hardcore fans can't bear the $3,499 price tag.

Ridley Scott's historical epic ‘Napoleon’ invades Apple TV+ on March 1

The movie, which stars Joaquin Phoenix as the ruthless French emperor, will soon reach Apple TV’s streaming service.

^{A message from the}^{Cult of Mac Deals team}

This Apple Watch band's secret weapon is a concealed wireless charger

Why carry a separate cable when you can wear an Apple Watch charger on your wrist? The PowerBand comes with a stealthy built-in magnetic charger.

Xcode could soon gain generative AI tools to write code and test apps

The next big Xcode update could feature artificial intelligence integration, allowing developers to use AI to write code and test their apps.

Customize Control Center on Vision Pro to be more useful and less irritating

The first few days after I got my Vision Pro, I found Control Center to be intensely irritating. With these few changes, you can make Control Center more useful and way less annoying.

Way more Android users switch to iPhone than vice versa

Maybe Apple’s onto something.

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

Super-adjustable laptop stand comes with a 6-way hub in its base [Price drop]

Introducing the Casa Hub Stand Pro. This laptop stand with hub provides ergonomic relief to remote workers, along with six useful ports.

Draw on your Mac using Apple Pencil and iPad with new Astropad Slate

The app turns an iPad and Apple Pencil into a drawing tablet for a Mac, saving the need for a basic Wacom.

Today in Apple history: Pismo PowerBook is a multimedia powerhouse

On February 16, 2000, Apple unveiled the Pismo PowerBook. FireWire and expandability made it one of Apple's best laptops ever.

Syncing audio and brightness with dual Studio Displays [Setups]

Today's Mac Studio setup offers tips for managing synced dual Studio Displays for audio as well as brightness levels.

Tweetz o’ the day

Make It Spatial is here for Mac!
Convert any boring photo into a Spatial photo for your Vision Pro 🥽🖼️⚡️
Free on the Mac AppStore right now 🚀
— Ben Harraway (@BenLumenDigital)
Feb 15, 2024

Better Sonoma Wallpaper
— Basic Apple Guy (@BasicAppleGuy)
Feb 16, 2024

Despite Mark Zuckerberg’s pitch on the Quest 3 vs. Vision Pro, the onboarding experience on the AVP is 10x superior.
Here I am, stumbling upon old panoramas from 2015-2016, revisiting Big Sur, the National Parks, or Tanzania. All I had to do was open “Photos.” The immersive… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
— Emm (@emmanuel_2m)
Feb 15, 2024

One more thing ...

❝

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.

— Cheery Steve Jobs quote from his famous Stanford commencement address, 2005.

Today’s poll

Are you sad about Apple killing web apps?

Results from yesterday’s poll: How sick are you of Vision Pro, Vision Pro, Vision Pro?

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