After implementing the Digital Markets Act earlier this year and opening the iPhone App Store to sideloading and third-party marketplaces, Apple is now on the verge of making even more changes for users in the European Union.
According to a blog post, Apple will make changes to the browser selection screen, default apps, and app deletion for iPhone and iPad users in the EU.
Apple says the browser selection screen displays additional information about the web browsers available to iPhone and iPad users, including additional data about their performance.
iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 will include a new “Default Apps” section in Settings that lists all the default apps available to users. Apple says future updates will give users new defaults for dialing phone numbers, sending messages, translating text, navigating, managing passwords, keyboards, and call spam filters.
Apple also announced that EU users can delete the App Store as well as Messages, Photos, Camera and Safari apps. Currently, users can remove some default apps, but it is impossible to delete Messages, App Store and others because Apple claimed that this would break the integration with the system. It seems that Apple has found a way to separate these apps from the system.
It is important to note that Apple will soon offer the same level of customization for the iPad as it does for the iPhone, as the European Commission has ruled that iPadOS actually functions as gatekeeping software as well.
Apple also recently changed the rules governing the App Store and third-party marketplaces for European users, and there may be more changes to come. The company may have to stop charging the Core Technology Fee that developers must pay when offering their apps outside of the App Store.
