It seems that Apple's closed ecosystem is slowly opening up, at least in the EU. On January 25, 2024, the tech giant revealed changes to its App Store and business model given the new requirements of the Digital Market Act (DMA) that will come into effect in March.
However, Apple's announcement sparked controversy. Many commentators, including Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and music app giant Spotify, called it a travesty. According to VPN service provider Proton VPN, “Apple is trying to capitalize on DMA.” Echoing these concerns, web browser Mozilla sees this as “another example of Apple creating barriers to prevent true browser competition on iOS.”
Opera developers are more optimistic about the new rules of Apple's iOS browser and decided to celebrate the launch of an alternative to Safari powered by artificial intelligence. I spoke to Jona Bolin, product manager for the Opera browser for iOS, to understand what all this means for users in and outside of 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 high 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 as affected by new fees and payment requirements.
“We would still have to develop two different apps,” Bolin told me, adding that the challenge will be encouraging users to migrate from one app to another.
This is because Apple is 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. Ultimately, this means double the work for browser developers.
Despite this burden, Bolin hopes that Apple's changes will make it easier for the team to implement the same level of features across the entire range of Opera apps. “From the beginning, we would get high security and a better process that we can build on,” he added.
NEW BROWSER FOR iOS INCOMING! Our new AI-focused Opera One browser will be built on its own engine, celebrating the opening of iOS 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 offer users a better AI-powered alternative to Safari. This is expected to be released in the coming months.
Outside the EU, both the UK and the US are voting on legislation that echoes the DMA's effort to ensure fair competition within the technology market and protect people's digital rights.
Bolin hopes that the new DMA requirements in the EU may be just the first step “to pressure” the big tech giant to open its ecosystem to everyone.
He said: “I think more countries need to move forward and then maybe Apple will change too. We also think that [the DMA] It may be a good test, so maybe Apple will realize it's working on their side too. We hope that in the future they will take it to other markets; We believe it will eventually happen.”
