Apple: Do not default on default apps



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Since the early days of iOS, Apple has kept a close eye on the relationship of its users with applications. The very first iPhone, of course, only came with a dozen preinstalled software: you could not add more, you could not delete the ones you had.

Over the years, Apple has relaxed some of these restrictions. . You can first add new third-party applications. Later, developers could even create and sell software that rivaled some of these default options. More recently, you have even been able to delete some of these built-in applications. (Adios, Stocks!)

But only a few restrictions remained. Obviously, the prohibition to install software from any location other than the company's App Store. I do not take any particular problem with that; the prevalence of malware and security vulnerabilities these days means that you can not be too careful, and Apple's approach has proven its merit.

That said, Apple can still afford to relax its rules: let users choose default apps for tasks such as mail, calendar and web browsing. And, considering a recent anti-competitive judgment against Google competitor in the EU for a similar situation, this question could come back to the front of the scene as soon as possible

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<h2>  Good for Users [19659008] For users, the benefits of choosing the default applications are obvious. At the moment, if you tap a web link in most apps, you're redirected to Safari, whether you prefer to use Chrome or Firefox. Likewise for email links: if you prefer to compose your messages in Outlook or Gmail, you have to go through some hoops to get there. </p>
<p>  Not everyone <em> goes </em> to move on to a third … festive application if that happens. Most people are probably quite happy with the flaws. But for those who want a feature that Apple's apps do not currently have, like for example snoozing email alerts or synchronization between Chrome on iOS and your PC, the choice to use this app default should be available. </p>
<p>  made some concessions to third-party applications over the years, especially when it added extensions and expanded the sharing sheet in iOS 8. It is now possible for other applications to handle certain types of data rather than sticking information, where such a thing was even possible. Given this, it is not implausible for the company to allow other applications to register as the default manager for a particular task. </p>
<h2>  Good for Developers </h2>
<p>  Developers who compete directly with Apple's built-in applications (Mail, Safari, and Calendar) have always had a tough battle ahead of them. How to take an application installed on each iPhone for free? Especially when your application will always be a second class citizen. Allowing users to choose their own default applications will not solve all these problems, but it will help make these applications viable for even more people. </p>
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<p>  There are many users who do not want to rule out Apple's prescribed approach because they do not want to worry about things getting more complicated. Try, for example, to demonstrate that you can accomplish tasks that are usually simple, but that the extra step of going to a sharing sheet will get more than a few to slowly back down. Allowing third-party applications to be set by default can also allow developers to potentially build more exciting new features that integrate with the rest of iOS in one way up to here. impossible. </p>
<h2>  Good for Apple </h2>
<p>  At first glance, it seems that this move would be a step backward for Apple. Applications like Mail and Safari are deeply rooted in iOS, and that would certainly require big changes at the system level. </p>
<p>  And what is the incentive? After all, the company already has a captive audience for its applications. Why would he give everything? But the risk of this captive audience is complacency. The pace of update of Apple's built-in applications has slowed down a bit in the latest updates; For example, contacts and calendar have hardly changed in recent years. Meanwhile, third-party applications have tried to differentiate themselves by innovating ever more aggressively. </p>
<p>  Of course, Apple is not obliged to respond to these new features because its user base only erodes by small amounts to these third parties. competitors. Opening the choice of the default application would force the company to compete more with these third-party applications, which would result in applications that not only could retain users who could turn to other applications. Other applications, but also make this software a better experience. users who <em> do not leave </em> * </p>
<p>  Moreover, as mentioned above, the European Union is clearly examining the anti-competitive nature of the default packaging applications in the systems of D & C. Smartphones. That's not to say that Apple will definitely find itself in the crosshairs of the EU – despite the sheer volume of iPhones that Apple sells, there's only a small amount left segment of the smarpthones market – but the eventuality can not be ruled out either. This type of proactive approach could do a lot to show that Apple is about allowing the choice of users. </p>
<p>  Could Apple ever make such a choice? It has been possible for a long time to have different default applications on the Mac, but iOS has been much more locked from the start. There was a time when I could argue that Cupertino would never make such a change, but as my colleague Jason Snell recently pointed out, <a href= the company's logbook n & # 39; 39 is more as well as it was. Especially when making such a change could be a net positive for anyone involved in the Apple ecosystem.

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