One of the innovations brought to us by the European DMA, which came into force this week, is that Apple has to open its ecosystem. Not only does it need to allow third-party stores (some are on the way, and there are discussions with Epic) or turn on NFC, but it also needs to support engines other than WebKit in browsers. But the truth is that no matter which browser we used, Safari was always present because it could not be removed.

But this will change.

You can uninstall Safari if you want. It has long been possible to remove Apple’s own applications. You can uninstall Notes, Apple Music, or Calendar if you want, but you can’t uninstall Safari. However, a new Apple support document (PDF) detailing some DMA-related precautions includes the following details:

“Apple users will now be able to remove pre-installed apps from their home screen in iOS. Apple also plans to allow users to completely remove Safari from iOS if they choose. Apple plans to make this option available in late 2024.”

Choose browser. With iOS 17.4, when a user in the European Union opens Safari for the first time, a screen appears with a list of options for choosing the default browser. There we can choose whether we want to use Chrome, Firefox or another application, but Safari will always be there. We can remove it from the home screen but it will be there. By the end of the year it will be possible to remove it completely and thus have a single browser application.

Browser selection screen on iOS | Image: Applesfera

What about my Safari stuff? You can export them directly from iPhone, as is already possible in desktop browsers. As Apple states in the document, the company is developing “a browser replacement solution to import and transfer browser data to another browser on the same device.” This tool will be available in late 2024 or early 2025.

browser war. Until now, Safari had a privileged position on iOS, as all browsers used Apple’s WebKit engine. But the advent of the Digital Market Act meant that Apple had to open up its garden and support other engines. Now Google, Microsoft, Mozilla, Brave, Opera and company may try to compete to have the fastest browser on iOS. It’s getting interesting.

They also want to improve the migration to Android. Although Google already offers an app for migrating from iOS to Android, Apple claims it is “developing a tool to assist mobile operating system providers.” [Google y las OEMs, presumiblemente] “Developing more user-friendly solutions for switching from iPhone to Android mobile phone.” What exactly will this tool include? Unknown. What is known is that it will arrive in the fall of 2025.

Image | Xataka

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