Apple may soon let you set apps like Chrome and Spotify as default iOS apps

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I just had to go check if hell had frozen over because the news this morning says that Apple is considering letting users set third-party apps as system-wide defaults. I mean, that’s huge if true. It’s also considering allowing third-party music apps to run directly on its HomePod smart speaker, so you won’t be stuck with Apple Music if you don’t want to stream from your other devices.

Does this mean that Apple is worrying about a potential antitrust lawsuit as part of the government’s probe into big tech? Currently, third-party app makers can create apps that do the same functions as Apple’s native ones, but users can’t select those as defaults to open. That means that on iPhones, links always open in Safari, and email replies always open in Mail, etc.

Sounds familiar to anyone who’s been in the tech world for a while. Didn’t Microsoft lose a huge antitrust case against the government for also abusing its market share to force users to use their own browser, Internet Explorer? Some very large parallels at play here, which could be why Apple is looking into changing how default app behavior is handled.

Apple has previously said that there are “many successful competitors” to its own apps, but are they really competing on a level playing field when core functionality such as the ability to set them as defaults is missing?

What do you think? Glad to see that Apple may be changing some of its long-standing policies? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.