ios5 iconBack in March, we noted that Safari speed improvements in iOS 4.3 brought about by the addition of a new Nitro JavaScript engine did not extend to web apps launched from the home screen, meaning that webpages launched from convenient home screen icons exhibit significantly slower performance than those exact same pages loaded manually or from bookmarks within Safari.

As noticed by CNET, a thread on Hacker News shares that iOS 5 does in fact provide home screen web apps with access to the Nitro capabilities, making them comparable to their directly-loaded counterparts.

Q: Did they fix the bug from 4.3 where home screen web apps don't use Nitro?

A: This is probably breaking my NDA to say this, but yes, they did. Web.app now has the "dynamic-codesigning" entitlement, which enables Nitro.

The thread goes on to reveal that the Nitro implementation does not extend to web pages loaded within other apps that take advantage of UIWebView to provide browser functionality without redirecting users out of the app and into Safari directly. That omission is reportedly due to restrictions that prevent the Nitro entitlement from being extended to all apps for security reasons.

Top Rated Comments

houdinize Avatar
154 months ago
How many people save bookmarks to their home screen?

Macrumors has been on my home screen since I got the iPhone
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nagromme Avatar
154 months ago
So all the absurd paranoia about how Apple is trying to slowly and sneakily “kill” web apps can evaporate now? :o
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
joseph2166 Avatar
154 months ago
Uh, how would this break NDA? I presume it's in the developer copy everyone has access to? Does the guy answering this have some credentials we don't know about?

The developer copy is theoretically for developers only... Hence the name. And therefore its covered by the NDA. It's so we don't all reveal the secret feature you're not meant to know about yet. You know the one...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Farplaner Avatar
154 months ago
How many people save bookmarks to their home screen?

Not just bookmarks. HTML5 web apps too.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2 Replies Avatar
154 months ago
I'm really glad that this FIX isn't getting a ton of fanfare.
We shouldn't be patting Apple on it's head and cheering them for fixing their own engineering mistakes.

How many people save bookmarks to their home screen?
m.youtube.com > Apple's native app. BY FAR


Macrumors has been on my home screen since I got the iPhone
To be fair, this means nothing since no one knows when you got your iphone.
It could have been five minutes before posting that post.
:-/
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrmjenkins Avatar
154 months ago
The developer copy is theoretically for developers only... Hence the name. And therefore its covered by the NDA. It's so we don't all reveal the secret feature you're not meant to know about yet. You know the one...

And by developer you mean any joe blow willing to drop 100 bucks to download iOS 5 early. There's no way Apple would try and hunt down every last person who dropped the 100 and is leaking stuff that is basically public knowledge from using the developer build.
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17 on Phone Feature

Gurman: iOS 17 to Provide Several 'Most Requested Features'

Sunday March 26, 2023 6:05 am PDT by
Apple changed the strategy for iOS 17 later in its development process to add several new features, suggesting that the update may be more significant than previously thought, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In January, Gurman said that iOS 17 could be a less significant update than iPhone updates in previous years due to the company's intense focus on its long-awaited mixed-reality...
dynamic island

iPhone 15 Dynamic Island to Include New Integrated Proximity Sensor

Friday March 24, 2023 12:27 am PDT by
This year, all iPhone 15 models will include Apple's Dynamic Island that unifies the pill and hole cutouts at the top of the display, but there will also be a material change to the feature that wasn't included in the iPhone 14 Pro models. According to a new tweet by Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the proximity sensor on the iPhone 15 series will be integrated inside the Dynamic Island ...
top stories 25mar2023

Top Stories: iPhone 15 Pro Design Leak, iOS 16.4 Coming Soon, and More

Saturday March 25, 2023 6:00 am PDT by
We're still almost six months away from the official unveiling of the iPhone 15 lineup, but it seems like every day we're learning more about what to expect from the next-generation models. Notably, this week gave us our clearest look yet at what appear to be some changes for the volume and mute control hardware. iOS 16.4 and associated releases are also right around the corner with some new ...
Hero0009

Best Apple Deals of the Week: Samsung's Smart Monitor M8 Gets Massive $250 Discount, Along With Year's Best AirPods Prices

Friday March 24, 2023 10:23 am PDT by
We saw a lot of great deals on Apple products and related accessories this week, including Samsung's iMac-like Smart Monitor M8 for $250 off, a 30 percent off spring sale at Anker, and the year's best prices on numerous AirPods models. All of these deals are still available to purchase right now, so we're recapping them and more below. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these ...
Steve Jobs Theater dusk

Apple Reportedly Demoed Mixed-Reality Headset to Executives in the Steve Jobs Theater Last Week

Sunday March 26, 2023 5:53 am PDT by
Apple showcased its mixed-reality headset to the company's top 100 executives in the Steve Jobs Theater last week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that the "momentous gathering" is a "key milestone" ahead of the headset's public announcement planned for June. The event was intended to rally Apple's top members of...
apple mixed reality headset concept by david lewis and marcus kane

Some Apple Employees Seriously Concerned About Mixed-Reality Headset as Announcement Draws Closer

Sunday March 26, 2023 8:25 am PDT by
Some Apple employees are concerned about the usefulness and price point of the company's upcoming mixed-reality headset, The New York Times reports. Apple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane Initial enthusiasm around the device at the company has apparently become skepticism, according to eight current and former Apple employees speaking to The New York Times. The change of tone...
iphone 14 pro max deep purple feature purple

iPhone 15 Pro Rumor Recap: 10 New Features and Changes to Expect

Thursday March 23, 2023 6:42 am PDT by
While the iPhone 15 series is still around six months away from launching, there have already been plenty of rumors about the devices. Many new features and changes have been rumored for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in particular. Below, we have recapped 10 changes rumored for iPhone 15 Pro models that are not expected to be available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus:A1...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 Will Add These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday March 26, 2023 8:06 am PDT by
Following nearly six weeks of beta testing, iOS 16.4 is expected to be released to the public as soon as this week. The software update includes a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone 8 and newer. To install an iOS update, open the Settings app on the iPhone, tap General → Software Update, and follow the on-screen instructions. Below, we have recapped eight new features and...