Apple plans to allow default third-party browsers, like Chrome, Edge, and Brave, and web engines in the EU with iOS 17.4, prompting Safari users on first launch
https://www.theverge.com/... Alessio Maffeis / @maffeis@mastodon.social : You might not like it, but #WebKit-only iOS is the only thing keeping Google from having complete control over the Web. — It's counterintuitive and wrong in principle, but advocating for multiple engines on iOS is going to result in less choice and a serious blow to the “Open Web”. … X: @dylanmcd8 : “just don't use it” Well, that's not really how it works. Many social media apps like Instagram have their own in-app browser, which now no longer has to be WebKit. Additionally, many apps out there are largely just web wrappers. If one uses Chrome, it's gonna tank your battery. @openwebadvocacy : The #AppleBrowserBan Ends in the EU! 🇪🇺 After 3 years of campaigning by @OpenWebAdvocacy and in a victory for developers and consumers, Apple will no longer ban third party browsers in the EU. We will fight until we have won in every jurisdiction! Your Browser, Your Choice! @openwebadvocacy : @TimSweeneyEpic It is critical to fair competition that such tactics are not allowed. They are a clear violation of the DMA and we need to push to have them banned. [image] Tim Sweeney / @timsweeneyepic : This is a victory for Google, who's on the right side of history in fighting Apple's browser ban, while being on the wrong side of history with Google Play Store's anticompetitive practices. If Google got entirely on the right side, they'd be a formidable force for good. Tim Sweeney / @timsweeneyepic : @OpenWebAdvocacy The end of the browser ban in Europe, the beginning of the fight over anticompetitive Apple scare screens to make it impossible for competing browser engines to succeed. David Barnard / @drbarnard : That was mean of Apple to specifically call out Chrome like that... “In addition, apps that use alternative browser engines — other than Apple's WebKit — may negatively affect the user experience, including impacts to system performance and battery life.” @diekus : boom. https://www.theverge.com/... Europe delivers. Still not ideal but a step in the right direction. Maximiliano Firtman / @firt : As far as I understand, Chrome and Firefox should create new apps with alternative names probably for the European market, only using the Apple API and complying with several unpublished technical requirements. They can't just update their current apps with their engines. Emilia Zapata / @synecdokey : I think this is great news, and terrible news. Giving users choice is great, but chrome's hegemony was already pretty bad, and this is just going to put the nail in the coffin. Bruce Lawson / @brucel : @synecdokey WebKit runs on ios, android, Linux, mac and windows. Once, Safari ran on Windows too, until Apple killed it. Apple could make a great cross-platform Safari to compete against Chrome. They have the money, the marketing, and brand loyalty. If they want to. https://brucelawson.co.uk/... @ericvicenti : @cramforce So who is willing to develop a new mobile browser engine that will only work in the EU? Apple hopes: nobody Malte Ubl / @cramforce : The web changed today. Alternative browser engines on iOS https://developer.apple.com/ ... [image] Malte Ubl / @cramforce : @EricVicenti Nobody will develop a new mobile browser engine. There already are two that are mobile optimized and work great on Apple Silicon and Apple-flavor OSes Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : There are also a number of changes on the iOS browser front. Apple will prompt users to choose a default browser including choices like Chrome, Firefox & Opera. Apple will now allow alternate browser engines in the EU. Now Firefox or Chrome won't just be different UI on Safari. Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : Apple has provided a calculator to compare how much developers will pay post-DMA rules and it's wild. If you have 10 million users and make $1 per user per year with IAPs, you will average $250K a month in payments to Apple today. In the post-DMA world, it's $574K. 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 [image] Mishaal Rahman / @mishaalrahman : With this announcement, Chrome and FireFox could finally switch away from using WebKit on iOS (Google's already been working on porting Blink to iOS), which could be a big deal for the mobile web. Thank you, EU. @dylanmcd8 : This is probably the worst part of this. Chrome is terrible, and developers are going to use it for no good reason. Prepare for iPhone battery life to plummet. LinkedIn: Bruce Lawson : Well, we won: In iOS 17.4, Apple is opening up its system to other browser engines, which means browsers will get better fast. … Justin Willis : Some HUGE things going on today for the web. — First, alternative browser engines can now be run on iOS in the EU https://lnkd.in/... . What does this mean? … Forums: r/programming : Apple is bringing alternate web engines to the iPhone (along with side-loading), but for the EU only.