Apple makes iOS browser options reasonable
Apple has agreed to change the way it implements web browser choice screens and browser capabilities to comply with Europe's monopoly-busting Digital Markets Act.
The changes, limited to users of iOS and iPadOS in the 27 EU member countries, follow the European Commission's decision in March to open a probe into Apple's compliance with the competition-fostering law.
Open Web Advocacy (OWA), a group formed to advance the interests of web developers, welcomed Apple's concessions, noting that the iPhone maker has adopted six of its 11 recommendations to meet the DMA requirements.
What's more, Apple has dropped what OWA characterizes as "two severe and deliberate deceptive patterns" that put competing browsers at a disadvantage. One of these patterns hid the option to change the default browser when Safari was set as the default. The other triggered the browser choice screen only when Safari was not the default browser. That's good news for Euro users.
"We're pleased to see that Apple will be providing an easy-to-use choice screen to users in the EU for browser options, with the options placed on a fair and nondiscriminatory basis (no pay to play)," said Brave Software CEO Brendan Eich in an email to The Register. The outfit offers the open source web browser Brave.
"Users want choice, and it should be their choice to determine which browser they'd like to use. Providing choice also benefits browser companies, which is essential to make sure the Web stays open, user-first, and competitive. We saw this recently in March when the daily installs for Brave on iOS in the EU went up 50 percent with the new browser choice panel, following the implementation of the DMA and release of iOS 17.4."
While progress welcomed, more work remains
Amid a broad attempt to dismantle Apple's iOS platform rules through antitrust litigation and the lobbying of regulators that has been underway since Epic Games sued Apple in 2020, Apple has argued that web apps represent viable competition to native iOS apps. That is to say, Apple has argued that regardless of its control of the iOS software world, people can always build and run browser-based apps on its devices.
Yet web developers have argued for years that web apps on iOS are hobbled by technical limitations.
Those limitations have started to come undone, alongside other Apple restrictions, such as its contractual rule that forbid third-party developers from informing users of their apps about external payment options – something now allowed, though with a 27 percent commission (or 12 percent for small business program participants) to Cupertino if that route is taken.
That said, many barriers remain that prevent web apps from being truly competitive with native apps, both on a technical level and in terms of visibility. Five of OWA's recommendations have yet to be implemented. Arguably, the most significant of these would be requiring in-app browsers (web capabilities embedded in native iOS apps) to use the chosen default browser rather than Apple's Safari.
"These changes are EU only," said OWA in a blog post. "Apple's users in other countries do not gain any direct benefit from these remedies. We urge regulators in other countries to carefully examine these changes and consider compelling Apple to implement them in their own jurisdictions."
We live in hope, but are not holding our breath, that software developers in other jurisdictions will gain access to the options being opened up in Europe.