WKWebView is an essential part of rendering web pages in mobile apps, but what is WKWebView? WKWebView is an API that helps render web pages in iOS and macOS apps. Before we really dive into this API and its power in iOS app development, let’s look back to the beginning of the mobile Internet.  

Mobile smartphone technology has become so ubiquitous over the last ten years that we take it for granted. It is hard to remember a time before the rise of the mobile Internet. However, back when the very first iPhone was being designed and developed, the mobile Internet was in its infancy. There were a few devices available to consumers that allowed them to surf the web, download ringtones, apps, etc., but the mobile Internet did not really take off until the introduction and widespread adoption of the iPhone.  

When the iPhone was being developed, Apple engineers were faced with a choice. Does the iPhone run software using apps like macOS, or does it run software as web pages utilizing Safari? Ultimately, Apple decided to build iOS and run software like apps. How do you render web content within an iOS app? Is it time to introduce WKWebView? Not quite yet.