Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL; DR
- In order to comply with DMA, Apple is working to make it easier to transfer data from an iPhone to a non-Apple device.
- Apple will release its data transfer solution by fall 2025.
- The company also makes it possible to uninstall Safari and change the default navigation app on iOS.
The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is forcing Apple to shake things up with its walled garden in a way it’s never done before. As it tries to comply with regulation, the company will ease the transition from iPhone to Android.
First spotted by The Verge, Apple has now published a document that describes how it will comply with DMA. Inside the document, the company details how it’s working on “user-friendly solutions for transferring data from an iPhone to a non-Apple phone.” But it looks like we’ll have to wait until the fall of next year for that data transfer solution to arrive.
There are a few other interesting details in the document that also relate to the default browser and navigation apps. In addition to creating a data transfer solution, Apple says it’s also working on a “browser switching solution” that will come out in late 2024 or early 2025. The browser solution will let you transfer data to another browser on the same device. And if you want to get rid of Safari entirely, users will be able to do that too until the end of 2024.
As for navigation apps, iPhone users will be able to change the default app to one of their choice. It said it would come into force in the EU by March 2025.
It is not clear whether Apple will bring these changes to users outside the EU. But based on how it handles other DMA compliance measures like sideloading, it’s likely the changes will be EU-only.