On iOS, you can set a different default browser without issue. However, Apple has put some arbitrary guidelines on browsers that they allow on iOS. They have to use Safari’s WebKit engine. That means, at their core, they’re just Safari with a different skin and none of the features of Safari. However, it also means third party developers can’t bring their own extensions or privacy protection features. The end result is that Apple has a monopoly on the best browser for iOS and iPadOS, one they’ve made for themselves by not allowing competition.
How is this legal? In the European Union, it may not be for much longer. But when will the rest of the world catch up? It’s about time Apple unlocked web browsers on their platform so everyone can use their browser of choice with all the ad blocking and privacy features they’d get from that browser on any other platform.
Safari Extensions, Not For All
At its core, all iOS web browsers are using the same rendering engine under the hood. In fact, from in-app browsers to third party browsers, they’re all just a set of features, controls, and skins placed over the same browser. So why does Apple work so hard to make sure that Safari is the only one that can take advantage of extensions made for their rendering engine? Apple could ensure that extensions like content blockers work across all WebKit browsers. Instead, they only work on Safari, and there’s no way to install extensions on other browsers.
Obviously, not every extension for Safari should work on other browsers. Some are Safari-specific. However, content blockers should work across anything using the WebKit rendering engine. Apple could make most extensions available to others, but they chose to lock them down to their own platform, making their would-be competition worse by default.
If that’s not monopolistic behavior, I don’t know what is, and the EU seems to agree.
Firefox on Android vs iOS
Let’s look at Firefox for our case study today. The browser is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and who knows how many other platforms. We know and love it for its privacy, speed, light memory usage, and extensions. In the early days, extensions were the biggest draw of the browser. On many of those platforms, you still have access to the full gamut of add-ons. Android, currently, only features select add-ons, but Mozilla is working to bring all add-ons to their mobile browser as well.
Except on iOS.
Because, on iOS, Mozilla was forced to make a version of Firefox that uses Apple’s WebKit rendering engine. They can’t take advantage of Safari extensions either. So all they get to do is sync things like your open tabs, history, and bookmarks. Sure, there are a few options in the Firefox app that make it unique, but, largely, it’s just another Safari wrapper, but without the extensions that made Firefox what it is today.
On Android, Firefox feels like Firefox. On iOS, it feels like a hacked together Frankenstein’s monster app that just isn’t as good as Safari, no matter what. That’s not Mozilla’s fault, it’s Apple’s. The refuse to compete with Mozilla at their best on iOS.
Free the Browser
Microsoft has felt the burn of the EU before as well. Because they made Internet Explorer the default browser, and perpetually bugged users to switch back if they did swap their browser, the EU forced them to add more browser options while booting Windows for the first time. Packaging a browser with your operating system is fine, as long as you aren’t using your position as a monopoly in the operating system space to become a monopoly in the browser space as well. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Apple’s doing with iOS and iPadOS. By forcing developers to use Apple’s rendering engine and blocking them from competing with Safari directly, Apple is using their monopoly as an operating system developer to become a monopoly in the browser space as well. Nearly all iOS users are using Safari. Right now, that’s still the best choice, but it’s not really a choice if Apple blocked all potentially better options.
The browser landscape should look the same on iOS as it does on macOS. You can download any browser, set it as the default, and expect it to come with its own features and tools, not be reliant on Apple. Thanks to the EU, Apple may have to open iOS up to third party browsers. The question is, will it be enough to force them to open up their platform in the rest of the world, or will we also have to wait for our legislators to wake up and rein in big tech? Hopefully we won’t have to wait much longer than a future iOS update, perhaps iOS 18?