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likely illegal actions by Apple (Apple Maps hardcoded in Calendar functions)

L

leonremi

macrumors regular
Original poster
I just noticed that even if you set another navigation app as default (in my case I set up the "Here we go"), the Calendar will still send you to Apple Maps.

And it"s the same if using a third party Calendar (I tried with Calendar 366). So it appears to be blocked on the OS level.

Also, if I set "Here we go" as the default navigation app the and remove Apple Maps, the Calendar will pretend that I have no navigation maps installed.

I'm in the European Union.

Can this be considered as malicious compliance on Apple's part?

Do you know who I should contact in Europe so this is addressed?
 
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There is nothing malicious or illegal about not getting around to it yet. And it's not blocked just because it was ignored. Report it in the feedback app to Apple and it might get addressed in iOS 27 (enter the following URL in Safari:
applefeedback://). Apple is going to take years until they meet all the things they are being asked to do, but they are making slow, steady progress. Apple has already told the EU that the DMA will create feature delays.

www.apple.com

The Digital Markets Act’s impacts on EU users

Apple explains how the Digital Markets Act is forcing the company to make some concerning changes to how it designs and delivers Apple products to its users in Europe.
www.apple.com
 
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leonremi said:
I just noticed that even if you set another navigation app as default (in my case I set up the "Here we go"), the Calendar will still send you to Apple Maps.

And it"s the same if using a third party Calendar (I tried with Calendar 366). So it appears to be blocked on the OS level.

Also, if I set "Here we go" as the default navigation app the and remove Apple Maps, the Calendar will pretend that I have no navigation maps installed.

I'm in the European Union.

Can this be considered as malicious compliance on Apple's part?

Do you know who I should contact in Europe so this is addressed?
Click to expand...

Boss@eu.eu
 
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leonremi said:
Can this be considered as malicious compliance on Apple's part?
Click to expand...
Sure is this malicious compliance!
Same as Microsoft did, when you set another browser as default. Clicking on a link in a mail opened Internet Exploder or Edge until Microsoft finally got kicked in the ass to change that. Same here...
 
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Another example:
On iOS 26.4.2, I’ve deleted Apple Maps and installed HERE. As the only navigation app installed, it automatically appears as the default.
TikTok allows business to link their address in the description of the account.
If I press on “Address”, two options appear: “Open in Apple Maps” & “Open in Google Maps”.
If I select the first, iOS displays “No Navigation App Installed”.
If I select Google Maps, it opens App Store to Google Maps.
If I install Apple Maps again, it completely ignores that HERE is set as default and opens Apple Maps.
It seems to be another conspiracy between Apple and its old partner in crime Google 🙂


Here.jpg
Adress.jpg
Business.jpg
NoNavigation.jpg
 
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bilibug said:
How is this any different than Google forcing you to Google Maps when you search for an address in a browser?
Click to expand...

That only happens if you are using Google search, and you aren't required to use it even in their browser. If I type an address in Firefox, it opens in DuckDuckGo. Same for Chrome.
 
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bogdanw said:
It seems to be another conspiracy between Apple and its old partner in crime Google 🙂
Click to expand...
Before you jump into conspiracy theories, have you tried considering that TikTok is not an Apple-developed app and maybe you should ask TikTok to implement better navigation options? The APIs are there, but TikTok chose to only allow two defaults (which probably meets 98% of their customers' needs).
 
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HouseLannister said:
Before you jump into conspiracy theories, have you tried considering that TikTok is not an Apple-developed app and maybe you should ask TikTok to implement better navigation options? The APIs are there, but TikTok chose to only allow two defaults (which probably meets 98% of their customers' needs).
Click to expand...
"No Navigation App Installed" is an iOS message, iOS should respect the default navigation app set in its settings and open it. TikTok offers the two options for users that have both apps installed and want a particular link opened in one or the other.
 
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bogdanw said:
"No Navigation App Installed" is an iOS message, iOS should respect the default navigation app set in its settings and open it. TikTok offers the two options for users that have both apps installed and want a particular link opened in one or the other.
Click to expand...
iOS does respect that. But TikTok coded that button to open Apple Maps, resulting in an error. Probably because their app needs to be compatible with older phones that do not have a default navigation app option. The error is a dumb iOS error, sure, but it is being created by an app designed to work across multiple versions of the OS and that's the reason it does that. So you need to ask TikTok to drop support for anything prior to 18.4 and add better/more options. Which they won't listen to, because money.
 
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From Apple’s documentation, I understand that once the navigation app adopts the requirements described in “Preparing your app to be the default navigation app”, iOS recognizes it as a possible default navigation app and can redirect the unified Maps URLs to it.

As iOS sets HERE as the default navigation app, without user intervention when Apple Maps is not present, that must mean HERE has implemented the changes needed to be a default navigation app.

I would then expect for links created for Apple Maps, at least from Apple’s own Calendar app, to be redirected to the set default navigation app.

“Adopting unified Maps URLs”
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/mapkit/unified-map-urls
“Preparing your app to be the default navigation app”
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/mapkit/preparing-your-app-to-be-the-default-navigation-app
 
bogdanw said:
From Apple’s documentation, I understand that once the navigation app adopts the requirements described in “Preparing your app to be the default navigation app”, iOS recognizes it as a possible default navigation app and can redirect the unified Maps URLs to it.

As iOS sets HERE as the default navigation app, without user intervention when Apple Maps is not present, that must mean HERE has implemented the changes needed to be a default navigation app.

I would then expect for links created for Apple Maps, at least from Apple’s own Calendar app, to be redirected to the set default navigation app.

“Adopting unified Maps URLs”
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/mapkit/unified-map-urls
“Preparing your app to be the default navigation app”
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/mapkit/preparing-your-app-to-be-the-default-navigation-app
Click to expand...
I wonder if it’s a bug in TikTok implementation of which app to use to open the link?
 
bilibug said:
How is this any different than Google forcing you to Google Maps when you search for an address in a browser?
Click to expand...
It isn't, Google/Alphabet are one of the designated "gatekeepers" under the DMA and subject to the same rules as Apple.

digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu

DMA designated Gatekeepers

European Commission designated for the first time six gatekeepers - Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, Microsoft - under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). In total, 22 core platform services provided by those gatekeepers have been designated.
digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu

If no action is being taken then its probably because nobody has registered a complaint yet - but Google are continually having run-ins with the EU.
 
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bilibug said:
How is this any different than Google forcing you to Google Maps when you search for an address in a browser?
Click to expand...
I am not being forced anywhere. I search for an address, I see a map of it, Google Maps is a tab at the top of the screen. The first search result under the map is the business I searched for, then Waze, then Apple Maps, then MapQuest, etc. No one is forcing me to click on a Google Maps tab.
 
HouseLannister said:
I am not being forced anywhere. I search for an address, I see a map of it, Google Maps is a tab at the top of the screen. The first search result under the map is the business I searched for, then Waze, then Apple Maps, then MapQuest, etc. No one is forcing me to click on a Google Maps tab.
Click to expand...

Searching for address, shows in Google Maps web view.

7446a73216e130c96fd1315022d97071.jpg



If I tap start, it brings me to the App Store to download Google Maps, instead of opening it in my default nav app, Apple Maps.

06bc5b037605e9305d6e749b5207e34f.jpg



There isn’t even a related option in the share sheet to send it to Apple Maps, though it seems to have no issue sending the address to my built-in Mini navigation system.
384a9374eba74ea58a6be6939dbb65e2.jpg
 
bilibug said:
Searching for address, shows in Google Maps web
Click to expand...
What I was saying is a normal Google search gives you normal search results. If you go to Google Maps and click Start, then of course you are using Google Maps. No one forced you to go to that tab or click on their map. Just scroll down and look at the rest of the results like we have been using the internet for more than two decades.

IMG_0584.png


Lot more good stuff below here. Other maps, Yelp, Wikipedia, Reddit, etc.














Just keep scrolling.















IMG_0075.jpeg
 
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HouseLannister said:
What I was saying is a normal Google search gives you normal search results. If you go to Google Maps and click Start, then of course you are using Google Maps. No one forced you to go to that tab or click on their map. Just scroll down and look at the rest of the results like we have been using the internet for more than two decades.

View attachment 2626286

Lot more good stuff below here. Other maps, Yelp, Wikipedia, Reddit, etc.














Just keep scrolling.















View attachment 2626289
Click to expand...

Don’t get what you’re saying. If I go to the dr’s website and click on the address, it again opens Google Maps.

I shouldn’t have to hunt and peck for the secret link that will open in Apple Maps.
 
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