I'm dealing with the same issue as the person who started this post. Starting iOS 26.2, after uninstalling Safari, canOpenUrl returns false, but open will work. It's a bug. guard let url = URL(string: "https://www.apple.com") else { return } if UIApplication.shared.canOpenURL(url) { UIApplication.shared.open(url) } else { print("Could not open URL") }

We are seeing the same issue where canOpenUrl returns false when Safari is not installed, even though open successfully launches the new default browser (Chrome). Therefore, canOpenUrl should return true since open is working.

Hi, we're also experiencing the same issue: canOpenUrl returns false when the user has uninstalled Safari, but calling UIApplication.shared.open(url) directly (without checking canOpenUrl) opens the new default browser (Chrome). So: it's a bug that canOpenUrl returns false. This behavior started from iOS 26.2 as mentioned by the TS.

I'm working at an Apple Watch app for a few months and it is not working since Xcode 13. Works perfectly on device, bot not on simulator.