Apple set to give more power to users in Europe: How it affects iPhones, what changes are being made, and more

Apple iPhone

“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.” Now, those might seem a rather innocuous few lines but are fairly important for Apple and iPhone users across the world. In a post on its developers’ website, Apple announced that users in European Union will be able to change their iPhone settings like never before.

Now, Apple is known for keeping a rather tight control over its entire ecosystem. The high-walled gardens of the Apple ecosystem aren’t easy to breach. Yet, the European Union has forced it to do so. In a move that could reshape the iPhone landscape — at least in the European countries — Apple has announced plans to offer EU users more flexibility in customising their device experiences.

What changes is Apple making?

With the upcoming iOS 18 update, Apple is introducing a new “Default Apps” section in Settings. This feature will allow users to select their preferred apps for a range of functions, including phone calls, messages, keyboards, password managers, and more. Now that might not seem too big a deal but in reality it is. What it does is that it gives users the option to make WhatsApp their default messaging app and not iMessage. Or use Chrome as the default browser and not Safari. It also shows that Apple’s hand can be forced as this is a big departure from Apple’s controlled approach of keeping users within its ecosystem and limiting them to first-party apps.

What it means for iPhone users?

Choices, choices and more choices. In the last few years, Apple started to give users more choice and isn’t as rigid as it used to be. But with the iOS 18 update in the European Union, Apple is giving users more choice than ever before.

Deleting native apps is something that was kind of restricted. For instance, you can’t remove the App Store app nor the Messages app. However, now users in the European Union will have the freedom to delete almost every native Apple app. Don’t want the Messages app? Delete it. Safari too limiting for your browsing needs? Junk it. The only two apps which users in EU will not be able to remove are Settings app and the Phone app.

Will this ‘model’ come to other countries?

This isn’t the first time the EU has forced Apple’s hand. Apple grudgingly dropped the lightning port from iPhones to shift to a type-C port with iPhone 15. Apple pleaded its case and made a strong argument about billions of iPhones with lightning cable around but the EU didn’t budge.

However, that was more of a hardware issue. This is more about software and while it’s relatively easy for Apple to give the option to make these changes in other regions, it is unlikely to happen. While Europe remains a key market for Apple, a software update can be limited to specific regions. In a country like the US, where iMessage reigns supreme over WhatsApp, why would Apple give users a choice to remove the Messages app?

While it is a possibility but giving up control doesn’t come too easy for Apple, so don’t expect it to happen in other regions anytime soon.

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