NFC is also usable by alternative wallet apps, and WebKit is no longer required for browsers. Forced by the EU’s Digital Markets Act, Apple has today.
Forced by the EU’s Digital Markets Act, Apple has today announced that it’s making big changes to iOS, the App Store, and how browsers work on the platform. These changes will become available in the EU with the iOS 17.4 release which is scheduled to land in March.
Let’s start with browsing. Even today you can select a default browser that isn’t Safari, but any browser that isn’t Safari has to use Safari’s WebKit rendering engine. That will change, every browser can use whatever engine it wants. Additionally, after EU iPhone owners install iOS 17.4, the first time they go into Safari they will be presented with a browser choice screen.
The much bigger news is that Apple will allow alternative app stores on iOS. Now, because the company says this will “create new risks” for its users, it will apply a “baseline review” for all apps, regardless of their distribution channel. This involves a combination of automated checks and human review. This process will result in at-a-glance descriptions of apps and their functionality which will be shown before download.
