Some iPhone users can remove the App Store, Messages, Photos, Camera and Safari apps
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Some iPhone users can remove the App Store, Messages, Photos, Camera and Safari apps

Posted on by Edwin

There’s a major software update coming that will allow iPhone and iPad users to do something many have always wanted to do. That is, remove the App Store and other Apple apps from their iPhone and iPad devices. Um, there’s a downside, and you probably know what I’m getting at. Thanks to the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the European Union (EU), this feature is limited to those who own an Apple smartphone or tablet in one of the 27 EU countries.

Which Apple apps will iPhone and iPad users in the EU soon be able to delete?

Apple announced almost a week ago that this update would be released before the end of the year. As Apple explains towards the end of the release, users in the EU will be able to delete apps such as the App Store, Messages, Photos, Camera, and Safari. Only the Phone and Settings apps cannot be deleted. In addition, iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 in the EU will add a new Default Apps section in Settings. The new Default Apps section will list which default apps are available to users and help users manage their default apps.
In the EU, iPhone and iPad owners can manage their default apps in the Default Apps section. | Image credit: Apple - Some iPhone users can remove the App Store, as well as the Messages, Photos, Camera, and Safari apps.In the EU, iPhone and iPad owners can manage their default apps in the Default Apps section. | Image credit: Apple - Some iPhone users can remove the App Store, as well as the Messages, Photos, Camera, and Safari apps.

In the EU, iPhone and iPad owners can manage their default apps in the “Default Apps” section. | Image credit: Apple

Apple says that in addition to choosing their default app marketplace, browser, email and the contactless app, in future software updates users will be able to set defaults for specific apps, such as the app that lets them make and receive calls. Other default apps EU users can choose include one for the keyboard, one for messaging, a password manager app and a call spam filtering app. Next spring Apple will allow users to set a default app for navigation and translation.

Apple makes it easier for iPhone and iPad users in the EU to choose a new default browser

To provide more information to iPhone and iPad users in the EU when selecting the apps they want to use as their default apps, developers of third-party browsers offered in the browser selection screen in the EU may display additional information to help users make their selection. All iPhone and iPad users in the EU who select Safari as their default browser will see the browser selection screen.

There will be a new screen in the EU that will allow iPhone and iPad users to choose a default browser. | Image credit: Apple - Some iPhone users will be able to remove the App Store, as well as the Messages, Photos, Camera and Safari apps.There will be a new screen in the EU that will allow iPhone and iPad users to choose a default browser. | Image credit: Apple - Some iPhone users will be able to remove the App Store, as well as the Messages, Photos, Camera and Safari apps.

In the EU, there will be a new screen that will allow iPhone and iPad users to choose a default browser. | Image credit: Apple

iPhone and iPad owners in the EU have the following options to choose from as their default browser:

  • Ecosia
  • Brave
  • edge
  • Sie.Com
  • chrome
  • Fire Fox
  • DuckDuckGo
  • Qwant
  • opera
  • safari
  • Aloha
  • Onion Browser

Each browser option has a small circle to the left of the listing. Those living in the EU can tap any of these options and click the “Set as default browser” button at the bottom of the page. In addition, the browser selection screen also offers new features, including:

  • Browser descriptions on the selection screen include the app subtitle from the browser’s App Store listing.
  • Users can check the App Store product page of each browser by tapping the chevron (right arrow) to the right of the mentioned browser.
  • Before setting a browser as default, users must browse the full list of browser options. If the selected default browser is already installed on the user’s device, the selected default browser will open automatically after selection.
  • If the selected default browser is not already installed on the device, the selection screen will display the download progress of the selected browser before it opens automatically.
  • If Safari is currently in the user’s Dock or on the first page of the Home screen, and the user selects a default browser on the selection screen that is not currently installed on their device, the icon of the selected browser will replace the Safari icon in the user’s Dock or on the Home screen.

To reiterate, these changes will be rolling out to iPhone and iPad screens in the EU before the end of the year. If you want the same features in the US or wherever you live, contact your representative and demand the passage of legislation similar to the EU’s Digital Markets Act. Don’t wait too long.

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