Last night, Apple launched the largest update in the history of the iPhone, with important changes derived from the entry into force of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) of the European Union. The striking ones are seen practically as soon as the update is finished. From now on, the App Store will not be the only app store that can be used on the iPhone. Another change is the free choice of browser, which implies two changes.
With the installation of iOS 17.4, the first time you try to open Safari or activate it as the default browser, the operating system presents a list of alternative browsers for users to choose which one they want to use. On the other hand, with the changes introduced, browsers that do not use the WebKit engine imposed by Apple will work on the iPhone. Those that are available right now carry it, but developers will be able to use others.
Probably the most radical change that users will find from this update is the possibility of downloading applications from stores external to the Apple App Store. It is one of the requirements of the European WFD. The North American company’s appeals to preserve the proverbial security of iPhones, compared to the malware suffered by Androids, have not convinced the European Commission.
Downloading from alternative stores will, of course, be supervised by Apple, which makes a series of demands on developers and will control the process to a certain extent. Brussels monitors the procedure devised by the apple company. For example, every iPhone software developer must be registered and contactable. Apple will provide an electronic signature to each app, without which it will not be possible to install it on its phones. Unlike Android, you cannot download anything from a web page.
Apple has had to backtrack on its intention to ban web apps. These are applications that are developed through a browser. They are saved as a normal icon and when activated, it opens as if it were a normal application. The Cupertino company had announced that, with the changes, it was going to deactivate its compatibility, but given the EU investigation for this, it has decided to maintain it.
Until now, Apple had controlled the use of the NFC chip in iPhones practically only for payments with its Apple Pay system. The update opens it up to third-party payment systems, from bank applications to Google Pay. In addition, tags may be used for other uses of this wireless connection technology.
Another major change, although users won’t notice it, will be at the heart of iMessage. Apple’s messaging app incorporates a state-of-the-art cryptographic key that makes it immune to high-power attacks that quantum computers that do not yet exist will have. The Californian company believes that in a few years the necessary technology and hardware will exist for malicious actors to attack messaging apps and wants to prevent it before it happens.
Other important new features of iOS 17.4 are the possibility of playing streaming games on platforms such as Xbox Cloud gaming and others, in addition to the incorporation of new emojis, which include the head that turns horizontally to say no and vertically to say no. say yes.