It seems that Apple’s closed ecosystem is slowly opening up, at least in the EU. On January 25, 2024, the Big Tech giant unveiled changes to its App Store and business model, given new requirements under the Digital Market Act (DMA) that would come into effect in March.
However, Apple’s announcement was met with controversy. Many commentators, including Meta’s founder Mark Zuckerberg and music app giant Spotify, deemed it a farce. According to VPN service provider Proton VPN, “Apple is trying to take advantage of the DMA.” Echoing such concerns, web browser Mozilla sees this as “another example of Apple putting up barriers to prevent true browser competition on iOS.”
Developers at Opera are more optimistic about Apple’s new iOS browser rules and decided to celebrate the launch of an AI-powered alternative to Safari. I spoke to Jona Bolin, Product Manager at Opera browser for iOS, to understand what this all means for users in and outside Europe.
An opportunity to gain more control
“I think it’s great that they’re changing the regulations,” Bolin told me. “For us it’s an opportunity to have a high degree of control.”
He went on to explain that while distribution is an important factor for other developers, the fact that the Opera browser is a free service means it won’t be affected as much by new fees and payment requirements.
“Even if we had to develop two different apps,” Bolin told me, adding that the challenge is encouraging users to migrate from one app to the other.
That’s because, with Apple opening up to third-party web browser engines for the first time (until now only Safari’s WebKit engine was allowed for iOS), the provider has only done so for EU apps. This ultimately means twice as much work for browser developers.
Despite this burden, Bolin expects that Apple’s changes will make it easier for the team to implement the same level of features across Opera’s suite of apps. “Out of the box, we would get a high level of security and a better process on which to build,” he added.
NEW BROWSER FOR iOS ARRIVED! Our new AI-centric Opera One browser will be built on its own engine and celebrates iOS’ opening up to alternative browser engines. pic.twitter.com/GQdohWmp5WJanuary 26, 2024
The Norwegian browser has already announced plans to bring its AI-focused browser, Opera One, to iOS to give users a better AI-powered alternative to Safari. This is expected to be released in the coming months.
Outside the EU, both Britain and the US are voting on legislation that reflects the DMA’s efforts to ensure fair competition within the technology market and protect people’s digital rights.
Bolin hopes that new DMA requirements in the EU could then be just the first step to “put pressure” on the big tech giant to open up its ecosystem to everyone.
He said: “I think more countries need to move forward and then maybe Apple will change too. We also believe that (the DMA) can be a good test run, so maybe Apple would realize that it is working on their side too. We hope that that they will bring it to other markets in the future – we believe that will happen eventually.”