If you thought the release of the latest iPhone software, iOS 17.4, meant that things could get back to normal in the world of iPhone, think again. Apple just announced new details of how the iPhone is changing. In response to the Digital Markets Act in the European Union, an Apple rule change updates how app marketplaces will work on the iPhone. These changes are for EU residents now, but governments around the world will be looking closely to see if they should adopt similar legislation. Watch this space.
March 13 update below. This post was first published on March 12, 2024.
Previously, Apple had said that if you were an app marketplace operator, you needed to allow submissions from other developers. Today’s change means that marketplaces can choose to offer apps from one developer only.
Apple says, “We’re providing more flexibility for developers who distribute apps in the European Union (EU), including introducing a new way to distribute apps directly from a developer’s website.”
Providing the developer has agreed to the Alternative Terms Addendum for Apps, they have new options for their apps.
First, they can plump for alternative app marketplaces. “Marketplaces can choose to offer a catalog of apps solely from the developer of the marketplace.”
Or they can link out to purchase. This means, “When directing users to complete a transaction for digital goods or services on an external webpage, developers can choose how to design promotions, discounts, and other deals. The Apple-provided design templates, which are optimized for key purchase and promotional use cases, are now optional.”
That’s a huge difference, offering developers much more freedom in how they transact for digital goods.
Then, in a matter of weeks, comes the biggest change of all. Apple describes it like this: “Web Distribution, available with a software update later this spring, will let authorized developers distribute their iOS apps to EU users directly from a website owned by the developer. Apple will provide authorized developers access to APIs that facilitate the distribution of their apps from the web, integrate with system functionality, back up and restore users’ apps, and more.”
It’s hard to take on board just what a big change this is. Until now, you could download progressive web apps, but proper apps had to come from one place only, the App Store.
With this change, when it comes, EU users will be able to go to a website and click a download link. Things are moving fast for the iPhone.
March 13 update. Proof, if proof were needed, that the latest changes to the iPhone because of the DMA are having an immediate effect, came today from a browser company.
Brave, which describes itself as “the browser that puts you first,” says there’s been a steep increase in installations on the iPhone since the iOS 17.4 update went live. In a post on X, Brave said, “Why did Apple and Google make it hard to switch default browsers for so many years? Because it’s a powerful way to block competitors. Just look at what happened to Brave installs on iPhone in the EU when Apple rolled out a new default browser choice screen on March 6th.”
It also published a graph showing that daily installs, which were around 7,000 to 8,000 in late January shot up to 11,000 as soon as iOS 17.4 was released.
That’s because one of the elements added by Apple to comply with the legislation is a new splash screen shown to users when they first open Safari after installing the update. Apple provides, for the first time, a list of the most downloaded browsers, in a random order, for users to choose between.
And, as you know, these requirements are EU-specific, for now, but other countries could implement similar changes in the future.
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