Hi @Drthrax
This is due to the CNA bypass (Apple Captive Network Assistant) feature. The feature tricks your device into thinking that it's on the internet to prevent the CNA from popping up. But of course, this is a fake situation - you are not on the internet. In order to force the captive portal, you will then have to launch a browser (like Safari or others) to cause the http redirection.
The reason that this happens is because certain applications do not work with CNA (e.g. BYOD onboarding) - the CNA is a great feature for most simple use cases. But some organisations need BYOD, and therefore they turn this off.
And yes, this is an Apple "feature". CNA looks like a browser, but it's not a browser - it's an assistant application that helps you get to the internet ... in a safe way.
If you turn off the captive portal bypass feature then your apple devices will pop up the "browser" automagically.
