Apple roll over and allow EU users to change default browser, delete stock apps and more

• A new screen highlighting alternatives will be shown to all EU users with Safari set as their default browser
• For the first time the App Store, Messages, Photos, Camera, and Safari apps will become deletable for users in the EU

Apple has shared that it will be making changes to its browser choice screen, default apps and deletion for iOS and iPadOS users in the EU. 

In a new company statement, the updates come as part of its “ongoing and continuing dialogue with the European Commission" over app compliance with the Digital Market Act. 

EU browser choice screen updates will show more information about featured browsers and provide developers with additional performance data. The screen will be shown to all EU users with Safari set as their default browser - a move clearly countering previous objections that 'forced' users to adopt Safari when starting out on iOS.

“For users in the EU, iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 will also include a new Default Apps section in Settings that lists defaults available to each user," Apple wrote. “The App Store, Messages, Photos, Camera, and Safari apps will now be deletable for users in the EU."

“In future software updates, users will get new default settings for dialling phone numbers, sending messages, translating text, navigation, managing passwords, keyboards, and call spam filters."

Staying out of trouble 

This move marks a significant shift for Apple as every Safari user in the EU will now be presented with a clear option to switch to browsers such as Chrome, potentially exposing themselves to Google's tracking and ad networks. 

It's a sign of Apple loosening its tight grip on its ecosystem, bowing to pressure to avoid potentially harsher legal consequences further down the line.

By making these concessions, such as the updated browser choice screen, there's no doubt that Apple are becoming more open and choice-friendly, and it's not a great step to speculate that such moves are to fend off stricter regulations in the U.S. such as those imposed by the EU's Digital Markets Act. 

While it may seem minor - a simple default browser choice - such action reflects Apple's new efforts to listen and stay ahead of further, damagine potential legal trouble to come.

The news comes following Apple's splitting the App Store team into two divisions - one for the App Store, and the other looking after alternative app distribution and the departure of its vice president.