Browser Companies Criticize Apple's EU Choice Screen in iOS 17.4

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I'm with you. And should the EU or other rise up to go after Google, apparently we should have a ton of posts defending Google over the GOV intervention... because apparently corporate interests are more important to us than consumer interests... as evidenced by the outrage when Apple is on the other end of that kind of thing. Now why do I think we will see it very differently when it's NOT Apple in that position?

 

[Analog Kid]

"No additional information"?

I'm already annoyed when I need to start making selections on a default install before I can do anything useful. I'm not going to read a bunch of blurbs. It's not Apple's job to educate users. If they're interested, they'll research it. If you want to get that information out there, advertise.

 

[hagar]

I think the EU was happy when Nokia was the global leader. They also didn't mind BMW trying to force subscription for heated seats. They only have issues when the US companies try to make profit.

I am from Europe and I really hope that Apple pull back from the EU. I wouldn't be mad. EU is going to kill innovation and stop future companies to enter the EU with all the regulations.

It's so adorable how the EU thinks they matter in world politics and the global economy.

As far as I can read this article is about companies complaining. Not the EU.

 

[JippaLippa]

of course they complained, why wouldn't they? never happy.

maybe just stop developing for iOS and go Android only. not hard.

I 100% agree.
Nothing's ever enough...

 

[acader]

“They’re unhappy because Apple did not give a description of the browser”. Seriously!!!!

Why don’t they all talk about the positives of competing browsers on their website? I have never seen a “comparison or description” the talk all the positive aspects about a competing product.

 

[kayloh20]

What description would a browser have? Every browser is going to say they're the fastest, most secure, best browser. In actuality, they focus on different things, but you think if Firefox says "Privacy-focused browser", that Vivaldi is going to be like "well, we're not going to mention privacy in our description, because that's not our focus"? At the end of the day, most of the time, people just need something to get to a website. Different browsers make some specific things better, but Vivaldi really thinks people are going to sit there and go "I like Chrome and use it on my laptop and previous phones...but let me take some time and look at this Vivaldi...then let me spend more time and take a look at Brave...I think I got time to look at ten other browsers."

 

[DoctorApple]

These complaints make no sense. Why would an average user pick an unknown browser as default? No one in their sane mind would. The purpose of the screen is to give users a choice, not ProductHunt where you discover new launches.

And for Vivaldi to complain that the screen would push users away from their previously selected default browser which is not Safari, in that case, those users are savvy enough to know what to do.

 

[rukia]

This has gone far beyond giving users a choice of browsers which has always been available. What they want now is for Apple to give free advertising and exposure to the various browsers. The free ad for Brave is the reason why their usage went up. Using this logic they can basically push for the same thing for every preinstalled app on iOS. That should be a fun setup process. You'll have to select your App Store, wallet, email, messaging app, music app, etc.

 

[FaustsHausUK]

The list of browser choices is incomplete. Why are Camino and Netscape Navigator not listed?

Or Lynx for that matter? It's still maintained!

 

[Mousse]

These complaints make no sense. Why would an average user pick an unknown browser as default? No one in their sane mind would.

Aye. If my browser of choice isn't listed, I'd use Safari to download it from the net, because I know which browser I want without needing a list of 100 browsers I've never heard of before. Android doesn't have a list of browsers to pick from. You either used Chrome or go hunting for you browser of choice.

I used Chrome to download Brave, because it's the browser I choose. Heck, I even replaced the default search engine on Brave (Leo? Never heard of it before🤷‍♂️) with DuckDuckGo.

 

[FaustsHausUK]

It’s always insane to me to see so many people on this forum side with the anti-competitive behaviour of the trillion dollar company, rather than basic government regulations that keep these companies in check.

I suppose that’s what you get on a forum specifically dedicated to coverage of one of those companies, but it’s still sad to see.

I agree that iOS should be opened up to other browser engines, and the user should have the ability to set the default browser however they wish. Not that I will use that feature but I believe it should exist. The browser vendors got that, and it is clearly working for their market share already - read the article, they are all reporting growth as a result of this change!

The issue is they are _still_ bitching because they think it is Apple's problem they haven't done a good enough job raising awareness of the benefits of their browsers. That's not an issue of EVIL MEGACORP vs BIG GOVERNMENT, that's entitled nonsense.

 

[TigerNike23]

Can they regulate the browser market before it becomes 90% Chromium?

 

[TigerNike23]

Or Lynx for that matter? It's still maintained!

What’s always frustrated me is there’s no well-maintained WebKit browser for Windows.

 

[Kevin2055]

Browser Companies Criticize Apple's EU Choice Screen in iOS 17.4

 

[Killerbob]

Oh fack off and realize you are lucky the European legislators are such a bunch of cotton candyass decision makers... This is wrong on so many levels - why should Apple, or anyone else for that matter, change their solutions to accommodate competitors? Really? If they truly had a monopoly, sure, but Apple does not.

And I am from Denmark, hence the European Union, but live in Canada...

 

[Rodney Williams]

Can't please everybody.

 

[Chazak]

The whining from the developers is unreal. They will never be satisfied unless they are the decision makers for the subject of every complaint they have. They have great partners in the EU regulatory authorities.

 

[Chazak]

Oh fack off and realize you are lucky the European legislators are such a bunch of cotton candyass decision makers... This is wrong on so many levels - why should Apple, or anyone else for that matter, change their solutions to accommodate competitors? Really? If they truly had a monopoly, sure, but Apple does not.

And I am from Denmark, hence the European Union, but live in Canada...

I doubt your post will remain up long enough for any comments about it to be read. For good reasons, MacRumors is unlikely to let it stand.

 

[vantelimus]

1. “Vivaldi is also unhappy with the design. The list of browsers does not show additional information and that does not help users to make a meaningful choice… “

2. “If the user has already selected a browser of their own choice, the choice screen can actively try to push them away from it, and may not even include it in the list that it presents to the user."

1. Does Vivaldi seriously expect Apple to directly advertise/market for competing companies? If a user already knows they want something in particular, or wants to explore other options, they can discover on their own.

2. This is exactly what Microsoft has been doing in Windows with its Edge browser for years. There are still times when system app-embedded links will only open in Edge, despite multiple settings to open in a different browser of user choice. Nag screens pop up in system settings trying to trick the user to switching back to Edge.

This is what the EU required of Microsoft a decade ago. Small descriptions were easier to do because it was a webpage on a large screen. The iPhone screen has limited space to present all the options.



It doesn't matter what Apple does. These companies have bad business models. Their CEOs will always be whingers who run to governments to save their jobs by tilting the playing field towards their goal. If they are so good at innovation, perhaps they should make something new and useful that Apple doesn't already bundle. Governments should not be assisting companies that waste human intellect and economic power by having engineers constantly reinvent the wheel with little to no additional marginal value.

 

[vantelimus]

All the "other" browsers should be happy that non-techie users are probably getting "tricked" by too many options and just selecting one at random.

But this is exactly the point of the EU bureaucratic action: slant the playing field towards European companies by market manipulation and trickery.

They want more tax money for Europe and to keep people employed. These decisions are made by politicians who are Eurocentrically and nationalistically biased, not economists. Their optimization point is "What's in it for us in the short term?", not what is best to keep the EU competitive. If they were interested in the latter, they would let the market kill these wastes of economic value and human intellect so that Europe could do something productive that the world wants.

 

[Wando64]

But if you’re a global company. Would you rather be in the EU or the United States?

No offense to my friends in the EU, but money travels further here (for MANY reasons… like no nationalized healthcare, little import tax, no VAT, etc).

If I were a global company (like the one I have worked for most of my life), I would like to trade to the greatest extent possible in every market, globally.

 

[Realityck]

And this is exactly the point of the EU bureaucratic action. Force Apple to make changes that slant the playing field towards European companies so that Europe gets more tax money and keeps people employed. These are politicians, not economists. Their optimization point is "What's in it for us?", not what is best to keep the EU competitive. If they were interested in the latter, they would let the market kill these wastes of economic value and human intellect so that Europe could do something productive that the world wants.

I wonder if the EU will force consumers to not use chrome so much also? Yeah I am implying while it's nice to use iOS/Safari as one example, it's hardly their biggest problem for achieving more tax money for local companies.
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Europe Web Browser Statistics​

Here’s a full breakdown of browser market share in Europe. In the European region, Firefox has a much stronger presence than in Asia or South America.

Chrome	Safari	Edge	Firefox	Samsung Internet	Opera
60.73%	20.21%	5.78%	5.28%	3.31%	2.95%

Worldwide Browser Market Share in 2024 (All Platforms)​

Here’s a breakdown of browser share worldwide for desktop and mobile. As you can see, Chrome is by far the most popular browser on the planet (nearly 7 out of 10 people use Chrome), followed by Safari (with nearly 2 out of 10 people using it).

Interesting, the relatively new Microsoft Edge has surpassed Firefox in popularity.

Chrome	Safari	Edge	Firefox	Opera	Samsung Internet
64.73%	18.56%	4.97%	3.36%	2.86%	2.59%

 

[SKeijmel]

2.5 times of nothing is still nothing

everyone is still using safari goodluck EU LOL

 

[boswald]

Bring back Neoplanet and then we’ll talk! I miss that browser.

 

[Abazigal]

I am pretty sure these browser companies cry "unfair" when they really just mean "not to my advantage". They probably expect Apple to funnel more users to their browser app and are unhappy that every other browser alternative gets equal screen time as well.