A browser recommendation? I want to run 1 webapp on my iPad, but in it’s own app

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Update: whimsically, I added lex.page as a home page, and when I tap the icon it opens up as a seperate app, not in safari like I remember it working.

I recently started using a delightfully clever AI writing app called Lex.page. It’s been available for a couple of years, and the developers have done an excellent job integrating AI tools into it. There’s a bit of a learning curve, and I’m still toggling between Lex.page, ChatGPT, and Claude, but as a professional writer, it’s a worthwhile investment for me.

The only downside: it runs in a browser, and there’s no seperate mac or ipad app.

I have it set up as a Safari web app (File → Add to Dock) so the tabs don’t get lost in Safari, and I can easily switch to it using cmd-tab.

However, web apps don’t function the same way on iPad, so I’m looking for a good alternative browser to use there.

Do you have any recommendations for an iPad browser that isn’t Safari?

(Not chrome - I’m using that for something else).

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Every browser on the iPad is technically Safari.

That aside, Edge is really good, and I’ve been using it as the primary browser on all my iOS devices for years. Vivaldi is another good option.

(On reddit, I’d be downvoted to hell for recommending Edge, but it is really good, both on Mac and iOS.)

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Interestingly, some time ago the Safari “add to home screen” menu action in iOS/iPadOS created a shortcut in the home screen that opened a different browser instance without tabs, bookmarks, etc. so it felt more like a standalone app. Apple removed that capability (now the shortcut just opens a new tab in Safari) but older shortcuts still work as they did (in fact, I browse MPU Talk this way in my iPad).

I don’t think any browser in iOS/iPadOS would behave differently, as this seems a limitation built by Apple due to some strange, stupid reason.

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No doubt because Apple can’t make money from PWAs. My current solution is to run web apps in a separate Safari profile.

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Thanks @dario. I’ll use edge. I use it on my Mac a lot, so I trust it. Thanks.

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Update: whimsically, I added lex.page as a home page, and when I tap the icon it opens up as a seperate app, not in safari like I remember it working.

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I think it treats PWA and non-PWA differently as far as separate app vs. opening in Safari. There’s different wording on the Add to Home Screen action.

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Interesting development!

I just tried it on ChatGPT and the Home Screen icon takes me into safari - like a bookmark.

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That’s what I tried yesterday and I got a plain Safari bookmark shortcut in my home screen, but it was a newspaper website, not a proper PWA. I would assume perhaps ChatGPT is a proper PWA, but not sure.

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As others have said, I believe this is entirely down to the website offering a PWA, as I use Actual budget and they rely on PWA’s for their Android and iPhone “apps” and you get a separate app icon that opens the webpage in a Safari window with no toolbar or tabs etc.