The new European standards for the iPhone could well force Apple to add an option to uninstall flagship applications from the device.
For several months now, Apple has been bending over backwards to respect the new European decisions responsible for breaking the iPhone monopoly. This forced Apple to change the iPhone’s charging port, but also to offer different default web browsers and application stores to offer more choices and alternatives to the App Store.
A few days ago, Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition and Digital Affairs, spoke about the arrival of potential new obligations towards Apple: “manufacturers have an obligation to make it easy to uninstall their applications and default installations. They must also display a selection screen for the latter. Apple’s current policy does not seem to go in this direction. Apple even seems incapable of offering the uninstallation of certain applications like “Photos””.
By specifically pointing the finger at the iPhone’s “Photos” application, Margrethe Vestager indicates that the installation of the latter by default, and the impossibility of uninstalling it, does not comply with the new European standards for opening to competition.
However, if the iPhone’s “Photos” application is impossible to uninstall, it does not prevent users from deleting it from the home screen and using another application. “Google Photos” is particularly popular thanks to its many features and easy transfers to an Android phone.
However, such a change within the iPhone would remain complex to implement. “Photos” is not just an easy application to install/uninstall since it is at the very heart of the iPhone operating system and would therefore require an in-depth review of iOS. The European Commission could still impose on Apple its decision to make each iPhone application easier to uninstall in the future.
