Apple will allow iPhone owners to quickly switch to Android and remove Safari.

In reaction to new EU laws known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple will soon be making substantial modifications to its mobile platforms.

Big Tech firms who have been labeled as “gatekeepers” by the DMA are now required to allow competitors or outside alternatives to access their primary platforms. As an example, the App Store no longer allows Apple to dominate the distribution of apps for iOS in the EU. This implies that developers can get beyond Apple’s App Store content restrictions by, for instance, distributing their products through other iOS application marketplaces.

Apple announces its initial DMA modifications.

You’ve probably heard by now that Apple has permitted competition in the European App Store. Microsoft, Meta, Epic Games, and Spotify have all chastised Apple for their regulations and guidelines surrounding these so-called “alternative marketplaces.” (Apple’s counterparts have criticized the company for implementing new, contentious DMA-related regulations about its revenue share arrangements.)

You might not be aware of these other, less well-known iOS modifications that Apple is being forced to do, though.

Apple released a compliance report on Thursday, the day the DMA came into force in the EU, outlining some of the impending adjustments it would be making to its platforms as a result of these new requirements.

The DMA has given you the following noteworthy updates that iPhone users in the EU should expect:

selection of browser
EU customers will have a wide range of web browser alternatives accessible in their market after updating to iOS 17.4.

Until recently, Apple’s Safari web browser was the default browser on the iPhone. To modify the default, you would need to go to Settings and choose an alternative such as Firefox, Google Chrome, or Opera. As a result of the DMA requirement, Apple will now ask consumers in the EU to select.

Additionally, developers will have an option. Developers were previously limited to using Apple’s WebKit for in-app browser experiences and browser applications. They may now make use of other web browser engines.

Delete the Safari app on your iPhone.
Regarding Safari, have you ever attempted to remove the application from your iOS gadget? It is not possible.

Well, if you’re an EU user, that will soon change.

Apple wants to allow customers to remove the Safari program entirely from their iPhones, as stated in its DMA compliance report. Because of how closely iOS integrates Apple’s web browser, users were previously unable to accomplish this. But Apple is already getting ready to implement that modification.

First, interoperability: Making payments with Apple Pay is simple. At a register, customers only need to scan their iPhones to pay for their purchase using any of the several payment methods available in their Apple Wallet.

All of this is made possible by Apple now granting developers of independent payment applications access to the NFC chip found within the iPhone. Users will soon be able to pay for goods and services using an iPhone and a third-party payment app.

Apple claims that on a case-by-case basis, it will also take into account further compatibility demands from developers.

simpler conversions to Android and other mobile OSs
Want to switch from your iPhone to anything else, yet feel confined because of all the data you have connected to Apple?

Apple has also been pressured to alter this by the DMA.

Apple claims to be developing “more user-friendly solutions” for vendors of mobile operating systems such as Android for consumers wishing to move data from their iPhone to a non-Apple device.

According to Apple, the majority of these DMA-influenced modifications will be released later this year or early next year. The newest planned feature, which would make uploading files from an iPhone easier, is expected to launch in the autumn of 2025.