Widevine on iOS
In the What is DRM? article, we recommend to use native DRM on each client platform. For iOS, it is Apple FairPlay. With CMAF, it is possible to encode and protect the video once and use it on different platforms with DASH or HLS and with Widevine, FairPlay, or PlayReady. However, if you have a solution fully relying on Google Widevine, you can use Widevine on iOS devices using a piece of software from Google called iOS Widevine CDM. With this software, you can play DASH videos protected with Widevine on iOS devices.
How to Get iOS Widevine CDM?
Google does only provide iOS Widevine CDM to the so-called Certified Widevine Implementation Partners (CWIP). This is to ensure the quality and security of the built solutions. You can find a list of CWIP as well as the requirements to become a CWIP on the Widevine website: https://www.widevine.com/training#partners. Axinom is one of the CWIP and has experience with integrating and maintaining the iOS Widevine CDM. If you are interested in building an application using Widevine on iOS, contact Axinom Support.
What is the Current Version of the iOS Widevine CDM?
As of July 2021, the latest version of the iOS Widevine CDM is 15.2.4. It is based on the Shaka Player Embedded. The previous version - 14.x - is not supported anymore. This version was removed on June 30, 2021. WARNING: Version 14.4.0 does not work on iOS 14. This is a known issue. A short-term solution here is to upgrade to 14.4.2. The recommended way, however, is to upgrade to 15.2.4 and use the Shaka Player Embedded. You can check the latest state of the iOS Widevine CDM on https://www.widevine.com/news.
Revision History
The table below lists the document versions and any changes to them.
| Version | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
1.0 |
December 18, 2020 |
|
1.1 |
April 08, 2021 |
|
1.2 |
July 13, 2021 |
|