You can Switch Apple iPhone to Android because of the EU: Apple wants to let iPhone customers alter the default navigation app and uninstall Safari, according to a document detailing the company’s compliance with the Digital Markets Act.
By the end of 2024, Apple plans to enable users of iPhones located in the European Union to remove their first-party Safari browser. Additionally, the company is developing a more “user-friendly” method of transferring data “from an iPhone to a non-Apple phone” by the autumn of 2025.
This is in keeping with a recently released compliance document from the business that details how it complies with the new Digital Markets Act of the European Union, which goes into effect this week.
- iPhone 16 Pro leaked design: iPhone 16 Pro differs significantly from the iPhone 15 Pro
- Price of the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 (2023) for the RTX 4050 and Core i5-13500HX returns to all-time low
Apple’s document also outlines other user-facing projects, such as a “browser switching solution” that it hopes to be available by late 2024 or early 2025 for data transfer between browsers on the same device. By March 2025, users in the EU will also be able to switch the default navigation app on iOS devices.
We’ve contacted the author to get more information, but the document doesn’t specifically say if any of these features will be available to users in the EU only or not. However, a large number of the company’s previously disclosed DMA compliance initiatives, such as the capacity to install third-party app stores and use browser engines other than WebKit, remain only accessible within the bloc.
“A solution that helps mobile operating system providers develop more user-friendly solutions to transfer data from an iPhone to a non-Apple phone”
“A solution that helps mobile operating system providers develop more user-friendly solutions to transfer data from an iPhone to a non-Apple phone” is how Apple describes the phone data transfer function in their document. Plans for the functionality state that they will expand upon the migration tools that are now available from other businesses.
To transfer data, including contacts, images, videos, free apps, SMS, and notes, Google currently has an iOS app named “Switch to Android.” Google’s process support article, however, lists several phone data items that are not transferable, including as purchased applications, Safari bookmarks, alarms, and other random files. Apple’s latest offering probably helps close some of the gaps.