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iOS allows alternative browser engines in Japan

developer.apple.com

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Re: iOS allows alternative browser engines in Japan

#51

Post by arcanemachiner »

modeless wrote: post #42
koolba wrote: post #31

Does this mean we'll finally have "real" firefox with support for ublock origin on iOS?

Apple is going to (mostly) obey the letter of the law but they will continue to resist strongly in every way they can. Onerous requirements, arbitrary restrictions, overzealous enforcement, and most of all bad APIs with limited capabilities and no workarounds for bugs. Shipping a good and complete browser engine on iOS will require more than just developers. You'll also need a team of lawyers to threaten and sue Appl…

> just for the Japan market

Also the EU, no?

Re: iOS allows alternative browser engines in Japan

#52

Post by modeless »

arcanemachiner wrote: post #51
modeless wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple is going to (mostly) obey the letter of the law but they will continue to resist strongly in every way they can. Onerous requirements, arbitrary restrictions, overzealous enforcement, and most of all bad APIs with limited capabilities and no workarounds for bugs. Shipping a good and complete browser engine on iOS will require more than just developers. You'll also need a team of lawyers to threaten and sue Appl…

> just for the Japan market Also the EU, no?

Does the EU also require third party engines to be able to replace the web view in apps systemwide? Or does it only require that single standalone browser apps can use alternative engines?

Re: iOS allows alternative browser engines in Japan

#53

Post by concinds »

arcanemachiner wrote: post #48
concinds wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they do this, and it's really not an unreasonable requirement.

Of course. It's just a coincidence that they're placing onerous restrictions on competi- I mean alternative browser engines. Restrictions which, of course, they're not obliged to follow themselves. I am sure that Apple will make no other efforts to impede others from unwalling the garden. That would be completely ridiculous, and frankly, un-Apple-esque.

Both Chrome and Firefox are already compliant, so I don't see it as onerous, but the full context of the list is indeed an extremely loud and clear "FUCK YOU, WE OWN YOU" to regulators and other browser vendors.

Re: iOS allows alternative browser engines in Japan

#54

Post by criddell »

drnick1 wrote: post #11

2026 should be the year when every tech-minded person dumps Apple (and Google) for good and either starting running either a free Android OS (Graphene, Lineage or a couple of other variants) or a Linux phone. At this point, Apple and Google devices are nothing more than instruments of coercion and mass surveillance.

Lectures and admonitions won’t change anything. People will move to Graphene and Linux when it’s better for them.

Coercion and surveillance problems are pretty far down the list of complaints most people have with their personal devices.

Re: iOS allows alternative browser engines in Japan

#56

Post by catlikesshrimp »

zb3 wrote: post #7

The title is misleading. "Allows" need to be in quotes - they did everything they could to make sure this won't change anything in practice. Screw Apple.

They weren't going to title "Apple forced to allow alternative..."

They are the ones allowing the alternatives because they are the gate keepers. They have "the keys"

Re: iOS allows alternative browser engines in Japan

#57

Post by Zak »

koolba wrote: post #31

Does this mean we'll finally have "real" firefox with support for ublock origin on iOS?

Probably not, at least not from Mozilla themselves. They cite onerous requirements and the difficulty of having to maintain different apps for different regions.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/26/24052067/mozilla-apple-io...

Re: iOS allows alternative browser engines in Japan

#58

Post by gumby271 »

crazygringo wrote: post #47
rorylawless wrote: post #33

My hope for laws such as the ones Japan and the EU enacted was that companies would see the writing on the wall and change their practices worldwide, if only for cost reasons (it presumably being more expensive to maintain multiple sets of rules.) However, these companies are now so large that they can choose to absorb any inefficiencies on a country-by-country basis.

There are many things Apple does that have anticompetitive motivations, but the browser engine doesn't seem like one of them. It's genuinely about security and battery life and standardization. So if cost was never the reason in the first place, cost is not going to be the reason to change.

The web browser is the singular hole in Apple's grip over the user's device. While there are definitely arguments that can be made about security, I think it's naive to think that Apple is unaware of this and is operating on something other than protecting their app store fortune.

Re: iOS allows alternative browser engines in Japan

#60

Post by guessmyname »

threethirtytwo wrote: post #10

Why only Japan? Seems like something forced them to in Japan.

For many Hacker News readers who check the website every day, this is not news:

• (4 years ago) Japan forces Apple to slightly loosen restrictions on ‘reader’ apps — https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28387094

• (3 years ago) Japan pushes for Apple and Google to allow sideloading — https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36393809

• (3 years ago) Japan to open up Apple and Google app stores to competition — https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36368735

• (3 years ago) Japan to open up Apple- and Google-dominated phone apps to competition — https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36370398

• (3 years ago) Apple Japan hit with $98M in back taxes for missing duty-free abuses — https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34156235

• (2 years ago) Japan to crack down on Apple and Google app store monopolies — https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38773429

• (2 years ago) Japan forces Apple and Google to open their mobile platforms — https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40666651

• (2 years ago) Japan enacts law to curb Apple, Google's app dominance — https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40671162

• (5 months ago) Japan: Apple Must Lift Browser Engine Ban by December — https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44810061

• (5 months ago) Japan Law Will Require Apple to Allow Non-WebKit Browsers on iPhone — https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44826077

• (15 days ago) Apple Announces Changes to iOS in Japan — https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46307858

• (14 days ago) Apple and Google respond to new Japan smartphone law, including reduced app fees — https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46310074

… and more here: https://hn.algolia.com/?q=japan+apple

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