iOS 16 finally allows you to use the Apple Pay payment feature on websites in browsers other than Chrome, Edge, and Firefox, not just Safari.
- What is happening? Apple is now allowing people who have the iOS 16 or iPadOS 16 beta installed on their iPhone or iPad to use other mobile web browsers along with Apple Pay, such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox. This feature is not available in the latest macOS Ventura beta.
- Why care? The move makes Apple Pay more accessible to those who prefer a non-Apple web browser. iOS 15 and earlier prevents you from using any browser other than Safari when making web payments with Apple Pay.
- What to do? If you’re running iOS 16 or iPadOS 16 beta on your device, the next time you’re about to make an Apple Pay payment on a website, be sure to try it on your Chrome, Edge, or Firefox browser.
iOS 16 lets Apple Pay work in Chrome, Edge and Firefox
Steve Moser has tweeted that Apple Pay works with Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox browsers on iPhone in iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 beta 4. One of the screenshots he shared shows the “Continue with Apple Pay”option. to the checkout page in Edge.
The Verge notes that this change may have been implemented in earlier betas, and an older post on Reddit shows someone using Apple Pay in Firefox in iOS 16 beta 2.
In the latest iOS 16 beta, Apple Pay works in Edge, Chrome, and I believe any third party browser. In iOS 15, Apple Pay only works in Safari. pic.twitter.com/x7zV5xCuiC
— Steve Moser (@SteveMoser) July 30, 2022
Why Apple Pay doesn’t work in third-party Mac browsers
Apple Pay is not available on Chrome, Edge, and Firefox in the latest macOS beta. Moser suggests that this may be due to the fact that these browsers use their own rendering engines in macOS. On iOS, Apple requires all web browsers to use the WebKit rendering engine, just like Safari does. Apple’s requirements are less strict on macOS, so the same browsers use their own rendering engines on the Mac. Read: How to set up and use Apple Pay with Apple Watch
Apple has most likely restricted Apple Pay to WebKit-based browsers as a security measure. As a result, Moser notes, Apple Pay support for Mac payments outside of Safari may not be coming soon. Since browsers are free to use their own unique rendering engines in macOS, that’s exactly what they do.
Since Microsoft Edge for macOS is based on Chromium like Google Chrome, both of these browsers use the Blink rendering engine. As for Mozilla Firefox for macOS, it also uses its own rendering engine dubbed Gecko. Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari for iOS, as we mentioned earlier, use a WebKit rendering engine like Safari.
The EU will put an end to this practice
It’s unclear if this is Apple’s response to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, which will take effect in spring 2023. As The Register reported earlier this year, the Digital Markets Act would, among other things, prevent platform operators such as Apple, Google and Meta from forcing developers of web browsing applications to use only Apple’s rendering engines.