Apple will automatically convert AMP links to regular links when shared or copied and pasted from the Safari browser in iOS 11.
AMP links will also be turned into regular links when saved in Safari’s Reading List or sent to a contact via iMessage.
This was first spotted by MacStories’ Federico Viticci, who shared an example on Twitter:
Despite AMP being developed to improve user experience through faster loading pages, people still have mixed feelings about it, as seen in Viticci’s comments.
Apple’s move to convert AMP pages back to their original form could be a direct response to user complaints.
Another possible explanation is that Apple doesn’t want to support a Google-backed technology, given the contentious relationship between the two companies.
One more possibility is that Apple is doing this as a favor to publishers by sending traffic to webpages on the original version of a site versus the AMP version.
iOS 11 Still in Beta
Apple’s iOS 11 is still being beta tested, so the company may decide to remove this feature altogether by the time iOS 11 is released to all compatible devices.
We’ll have to wait and see what ends up getting left in or out of the final version. In the meantime, a beta version of iOS 11 is available to download for anyone who opts in to Apple’s beta testing program.
As always, proceed at your own risk when installing beta software. For what it’s worth, I have been running the iOS 11 public beta on my iPhone and iPad for the past few weeks without any major problems.
