In recent months, Apple has been forced to change the way its walled garden works due to pressure from the European Union (EU) and its Digital Markets Act (DMA). And the latest development could have a massive impact on how you use and download the best iOS apps to your iPhone if you live in the EU.
For one, you’ll soon have a lot more choice in the default apps used to open certain files on your iPhone. Currently, Apple already allows EU users to change their default apps for web browsing, email, contactless payments and app purchases, but that will soon be expanded to include a lot more.
In a post on the Apple Developer website, Apple explained that EU users will soon be able to change their default apps for “dialing phone numbers, sending messages, translating text, navigating, managing passwords, keyboards, and call spam filters.” That’s a huge increase and should give you much more freedom to set up your iPhone however you want.
You’ll be able to set new default apps for Messages, phone calls, password managers, spam call filters, and keyboards in an iOS 18 update later this year. For everything else, you’ll have to wait until spring 2025.
Apple is also changing the way users can choose a default web browser. In iOS 17.4, EU users will see a pop-up with a random list of available browsers. Now, this list will appear if you have Safari set as your default browser (but not if something else is the default), and Apple will add a description next to each app selection. This pop-up will appear on each of your Apple devices. You can find more information about this change on Apple’s website.
More freedom when deleting
But the changes don’t end there. Soon, you’ll be able to not only change your default apps, but even delete some of Apple’s core apps that have been a staple of iOS for years.
For example, Apple will allow you to remove the App Store, Messages, Camera, Photos, and Safari apps from your iPhone once these changes take effect. Previously, you could only remove these apps from your iOS home screen, not delete them completely.
The App Store is an interesting example because if you deleted it, you used to have no way to get new apps – or to re-download the App Store itself after deleting it – which is why Apple always made it a must-have app. But with the advent of third-party app stores on iOS, it seems that’s not such a big problem anymore. As a safety measure, Apple allows users to re-download the App Store app from the Settings app as a precaution.
These are clearly pretty big changes. However, they’re currently only rolling out to users in the EU, and there’s no news on whether they’ll be rolling out elsewhere. However, if you live in the EU, your iPhone could soon be more customizable than ever.
