The EU’s newly implemented Digital Markets Act (DMA) really is the gift that keeps on giving. That is, if you’ve always wanted Apple to be a bit more open, and less restrictive of what you can do on its mobile devices.
We’ve already mentioned how the DMA forced Apple to (begrudgingly, but still) allow third party app stores on iOS, browsers that can use their own rendering engines, and alternative payment systems for apps, but it turns out that’s not all the DMA has made Apple do. The company is also working on a way to make switching from an iPhone to an Android phone easier.
Yes, you read that right. Apple is going to have a more “user-friendly” way for you to transfer your date to a “non-Apple phone” by fall 2025. This comes from a new compliance document published by Apple to outline all the ways in which it’s complying with the DMA.
But wait, there’s more. There will also be a way to transfer data between browsers on the same iOS device, and this will become available in late 2024 or early 2025. By March 2025, in the EU alone, you’ll also be able to change the default navigation app!
Oh, and you will also be able to fully uninstall Safari if you are using another browser and simply don’t need it anymore. This will be available by the end of this year.
Here’s the catch. All of these features are likely to only be launched in the EU, since that’s where the DMA applies. So far, all of the things Apple implemented to comply with the DMA have been limited to the EU – very much so, in fact, as those third party app stores don’t work if you travel outside of the bloc for “too long”, for example.
Source (PDF) | Via
