Testing of iOS Browsers With Third-Party Engines Geofenced to EU

[Lihp8270]

It's bad because it allows Chrome/Chromium on iOS devices which means there is even less push against web developers to support Safari/Webkit.

This will hurt me as a Safari users on Mac and iOS.

Safari is already very similar to chromium. In fact a lot of chromium is already built off of early web kit.

The issue with a single browser engine, is that if there’s a vulnerability. You’re stuck until that 1 company decides to fix it. You don’t have any alternatives in the mean time.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Could you elaborate on what you mean by legislation that will end up reducing the number of android phones available in the EU? I am not aware of any laws being passed along this line.

Products made with forced labour to be banned from EU single market | News | European Parliament

Parliament has given its final approval to a new regulation enabling the EU to prohibit the sale, import, and export of goods made using forced labour.

www.europarl.europa.eu

 

[Unregistered 4U]

You’ll excuse me for not really buying into that appears to be an odd conspiracy theory in which the EU wants to increase Apple’s sales in order to somehow juice up the whole European cell phone market. It just doesn’t make any sense and you’re not offering any kind of evidence to support this stuff, so…

That the EU’s changes will make the iPhone/iPad more attractive, that’s a given. Considering how many people OUTSIDE the EU want to see the same changes is a clear indication of the attractiveness of those changes and the potential of market growth.

Everything else, is just trying to make sense of why the EU would want to force the iPhone to be more attractive to EU citizens. It WILL be the outcome of their actions, but why would EU regulators (which make their moves based on what EU businesses want) want that? We know businesses want more money, so it’s not a stretch to think that’s the end goal.

In 5 years, I could be 100% wrong on everything else, but Apple’s marketshare in the EU being greater than today? That’s a given.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I don't care, I wish Apple hadn't complied with this. The EU, by "working to eliminate monopolies" has now helped an actual monopoly (Google, with its Chromium web engine) get more powerful. Because let's be honest, it isn't Firefox who this is helping. And I wholeheartedly believe a small percentage of the smartphone userbase being locked into WebKit is millions of times less harmful to the world than giving Google more power over the web.

It’s never been about eliminating monopolies. It’s been about solidifying the position of Google and Apple such that they only have to chat with those two companies in order to get things done. They VERY much prefer having a non-competitive mobile market.

 

[Surf Monkey]

That the EU’s changes will make the iPhone/iPad more attractive, that’s a given. Considering how many people OUTSIDE the EU want to see the same changes is a clear indication of the attractiveness of those changes and the potential of market growth.

Everything else, is just trying to make sense of why the EU would want to force the iPhone to be more attractive to EU citizens. It WILL be the outcome of their actions, but why would EU regulators (which make their moves based on what EU businesses want) want that? We know businesses want more money, so it’s not a stretch to think that’s the end goal.

In 5 years, I could be 100% wrong on everything else, but Apple’s marketshare in the EU being greater than today? That’s a given.

So, the EU is making the iPhone “better.”

Come on now.

 

[Surf Monkey]

It’s never been about eliminating monopolies. It’s been about solidifying the position of Google and Apple such that they only have to chat with those two companies in order to get things done. They VERY much prefer having a non-competitive mobile market.

But you just got done arguing that the regulations they’re demanding Apple comply with will make iPhone MORE competitive. Which is it?

 

[bzgnyc2]

Safari is already very similar to chromium. In fact a lot of chromium is already built off of early web kit.

The issue with a single browser engine, is that if there’s a vulnerability. You’re stuck until that 1 company decides to fix it. You don’t have any alternatives in the mean time.

Plus if that company decides to drop support for your platform/version, you have no recourse. As the web moves forward old versions of browsers get left behind but they can't be upgraded on the iPhone because the OS can't be upgraded even though the hardware is fine to keep running newer browsers.

I noticed a number of sites no longer even open in Safari V.15 (last version for Catalina and last updated <2 years ago) even though the site's functionality seems the same in newer browsers. As it seems like it all happened around the same time with a number of sites (including major ones like Instagram), it seems like some commonly used library/module started depending on a feature/API only available in newer WebKit, etc.

At least if one's Mac doesn't support the latest OS, one can still run many other browsers for years after Apple drops support..

However, that hasn't been possible on iPhone as of current. So once the web practially requires a WebKit newer than what came in the last version of iOS 15, all those phones stuck on that version are obsolete. Not because of the hardware and not even the OS. Just because we can't install a newer browser with a non-Apple browser engine.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

So, the EU is making the iPhone “better.”

Come on now.

According to the EU regulators and to EU businesses, it’s most certainly better (those businesses get access to the NFC chip AND will be able to deliver their digital goods through their own digital storefronts. And, there appear to be a not insignificant number of people around the world that see what the EU is doing as making Apple’s platform more attractive to them. It doesn’t take even two seconds to find posts around here where folks are hoping those changes come to the US.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

But you just got done arguing that the regulations they’re demanding Apple comply with will make iPhone MORE competitive. Which is it?

They absolutely want to maintain Apple and Google as the only players. They also absolutely want Apple to be a larger part of that pie, which is why they’re pushing them to be more like Android. iPhone/iPad hardware sales in the region will increase. Why would the EU want the hardware sales for Apple devices to increase? (I guess it’s also true that, like with other things, the EU regulators are just completely clueless and they don’t understand how making Apple’s platforms attractive to EU businesses will increase sales of Apple devices in the region. No conspiracy required, just general lack of technical understanding by folks who’ve proven themselves unable to understand technical outcomes in the past!)

“We’ll stick it to you Apple! We’ll make it so that people who want to use web engines other than webkit are able to! Forcing more flexibility on your platform will SURELY be the end of you. Bwa ha ha ha ha!”

 

[Sogeman]

Am I the only person going to websites that use animation, including apple's website itself?!?
I wasn't aware the rest of humanity only browsed reddit/youtube.

Apple website doesn't have animations. They usually just scrub through videos on scroll