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Apple Extends Deadline Requiring Apps to Stop Using UIWebView

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Apple is phasing out UIWebView, which is used by developers for integrating web content into an app in a quick and secure manner. Apple is replacing UIWebView (and WebView) with WKWebView, an updated version, as UIWebView has been deprecated.

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Apple originally told developers that app updates with UIWebView would no longer be accepted as of December 2020, but Apple is now providing additional time for developers to adopt WKWebView and has extended the deadline period. There's no new deadline in place at this time, with Apple planning to provide an update at a later time.

Along with the deadline extension, Apple today also informed developers that App Store server notifications are able to provide real-time updates on a subscriber's status, allowing for customized user experiences.

There's an option to be notified when a subscriber auto-renews and an option that lets you know when the ‌App Store‌ begins asking users to agree to a new subscription price, letting developers send reminders about a service's value.

Top Rated Comments

gaximus Avatar
gaximus
72 months ago
I'm a developer and I agree with this, I hate using an app that is just a webwiew wrapper. I think Apple is trying to "encourage" developers to just create a native UI experience. If I'm in an app with a link, just send me to the default browser, don't keep me in your app.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S
simmepi
72 months ago
Ha, and I just this week sent in updates for my two apps where I migrated to WKWebView from UIWebView :) But for me it's alright, the apps are now much improved, given the fact that WKWebView behaves much better as a "browser" view. I only ran into two snags: Default scaling is different so needed to compensate for that, and loading local image files using a "file://" URL is not supported due to security (or rather sandboxing) reasons per default, so needed to handle those URLs myself. Other than that, painless, and I should really have done this years ago, since at least in my use case, WKWebView was way more suitable.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Doctor Q Avatar
Doctor Q
72 months ago
We had plenty of warning about this. However, initially, WKWebView didn't have all of the required features to let us switch. Now there's very little need to keep supporting UIWebView.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
mkldev
72 months ago
The problem is that unless something has changed recently, WKWeb is woefully inadequate as a replacement for UIWebView. In particular, it isn't possible to change out the network machinery under the hood. You use Apple's networking stack, period. Want to do something interesting, such as changing the caching behavior? Too bad. You get what Apple gives you.

Basically, what Apple is saying is that they no longer care about any of those interesting corner cases that WKWebView can't handle, and that developers who need to do these things should choose another platform. That's why folks are shocked that Apple is doing this, just like we were all shocked when they deprecated UIWebView before making WKWebView a full-featured replacement.

Implementation of this ridiculous policy doesn't need to be delayed. It needs to be canceled outright until such time as WKWebView can replace EVERY use case for UIWebView. Best case is late 2021.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
cmaier
71 months ago

This is just another way to purge perfectly good old 64 bit apps out of the store just as they did with 32 bit apps. With iOS 15 the api removal will render these old apps obsolete.
Just another way to force developers to re-up the $99 fee in order to update their app so they remains in the App Store.
UIWebview has been deprecated for years - since around iOS 8. I went to the trouble of ripping it out of my apps two years ago for that reason. Developers have had plenty of time.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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simmepi
72 months ago

This is just another way to purge perfectly good old 64 bit apps out of the store just as they did with 32 bit apps. With iOS 15 the api removal will render these old apps obsolete.
Just another way to force developers to re-up the $99 fee in order to update their app so they remains in the App Store.
At least for now, any existing app using UIWebView will continue to be available in the store since this applies to new versions of old apps or new apps only. Nothing has been said about iOS 15 as of now.

Also, your logic is weird. If they disallow UIWebView in iOS 15 even for old apps, this will only lead to fewer developer paying $99: If you want an app in the store, be it old or new, you have to pay every year. So if you can’t/don’t want to update your code, there is no point in paying the annual fee. If Apple would allow old apps to remain without changes, more developers would pay the fee. So deprecation leads to fewer developers paying, not more.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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