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Thanks to the European Union's draconian antitrust laws, iPhone users and iOS developers alike will finally get to experience what life is outside of Apple's walled garden. The latest iOS 17.4 update puts an end to the closed system Steve Jobs created and Apple nurtured for 17 years under many pretenses about security or performance.
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When Steve Jobs announced the concept of third-party apps for Apple's newfangled iPhone invention back in 2007, it didn't sound like iOS will turn into a walled software garden where only company fare is accepted as default apps for the most important tasks on your phone. He even gave a speech for future iOS developers that touted how easy it is to create web apps:
We have been trying to come up with a solution to expand the capabilities of iPhone by allowing developers to write great apps for it, and yet keep the iPhone reliable and secure. And we’ve come up with a very sweet solution. Let me tell you about it.
So, we’ve got an innovative new way to create applications for mobile devices, really innovative, and it’s all based on the fact that iPhone has the full Safari inside. The full Safari engine is inside of iPhone, and it gives us tremendous capability, more than there’s ever been in a mobile device to this date, and so you can write amazing Web 2.0 and Ajax apps that look exactly and behave exactly like apps on the iPhone!
And these apps can integrate perfectly with iPhone services: they can make a call, they can send an email, they can look up a location on Google Maps. After you write them, you have instant distribution.
Does that ring a bell? No? It's because Apple closed off iOS soon after in favor of a homegrown ecosystem of apps, browser, and an App Store. Microsoft couldn't do it with Internet Explorer, but Apple easily made Safari the de facto monopolistic window to the wonders of the Internet.
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So far, Apple's WebKit framework that underlines all of its operating systems, be it macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, or watchOS, has a section in its developer guidelines that mandates all third-party browsers to run on Safari's WebView platform that Apple creates and controls.
In other words, all the Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox or Samsung browser efforts were in vain if they wanted to have a presence on your iPhone, as they were little more than Safari with a coat of paint on top.
That's not all, though, as only Safari can run videos and games full screen. Web apps or extensions can run only on Safari, too, while Apple Pay can only be used with the iPhone's default browser, putting everyone else at a competitive disadvantage.
Furthermore, the browser is just one part of the picture, as Apple takes a cut from the revenue of all apps running on your iPhone or iPad, whether it is a one-time payment, in-app purchases, or a continuous subscription.
This significant revenue source - $89 billion in 2023 - is why Apple is now in an epic quarrel with Epic Games about the alternative app store it wants to offer to iOS users so that it circumvents the "Apple tax" asked from developers to distribute their wares on its platform:
Apple demanded that Epic revert Fortnite to exclusively use Apple payments. Their proposal was an invitation for Epic to collude with Apple to maintain its monopoly over in-app payments on iOS, suppressing free market competition and inflating prices. As a matter of principle, we refused to do so.
Apple was pushed to comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), and release an iOS 17.4 update that allows other browsers, app stores, and payment methods than its own, only for European users.
The EU also decided to show that the DMA is not toothless by slapping a $2 billion fine on Apple over a longstanding complaint about monopolistic App Store practices filed by Spotify. Apple has now decided to make an example of Epic, and sent its lawyers the following letter:
Apple is still fighting tooth and nail against Epic's alternative app store for iOS
iOS sideloading? Alternative Apple Pay?
What the heck?
While Epic Games got punished for its insurrection, and iPhone users remain Fortnite-less, the iOS 17.4 update has now opened the gates of Apple's walled garden. Previously, the EU went with long and expensive lawsuits that had to prove irreparable harm to users from a tech giant's monopolistic position.
It recently changed tack, though, and simply used the 22 "fairness" requirements in its DMA legislation. If broken, they could lead to a huge fine, which is a significant percentage of the company's total revenue.
While Apple waxed poetic that Europe is only 7% of its App Store revenue, the financial officers from Cupertino ultimately decided that it would be too risky and expensive not to comply. Now, with the iOS 17.4 update, European iPhone and iPad users will be able to enjoy unheard of Apple flexibility. Some of the more jaw-dropping examples include:
Alternative browser engines: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Samsung, or Opera will use their own browser engines rather than WebKit, including for in-app browsing.
Browser choice screen: iPhone and iPad users will be able to pick and choose from several web browsers as default.
Sideload apps from alternative marketplaces: the App Store is no longer the only iPhone app download game in town.
Alternative payments options: Apple Pay is no longer the sole method for contactless payments or the App Store's purchasing system for in-app payments.
This unprecedented opening of the iOS ecosystem is yet to fully play out, but one thing is clear. Apple's walled garden is no more, and it remains to be seen if more freedom will indeed come with dire security and performance consequences, as Apple has been warning all along.
In the meantime, Apple just closed off Epic's developer account citing "egregious breach of contractual obligations," and the EU is now forced to react to this roundabout way of punishing unruly developers who want a larger piece of the revenue pie.
Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.
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