How regulators have chipped away at Apple's walled garden
A running list of the ways Apple has had to scale back its ecosystem lock.
Regulators, especially those in the European Union, have been slowly forcing Apple to dismantle its so-called walled garden: the iPhone maker’s closed ecosystem of hardware and software that’s notoriously difficult to leave.
Most recently, that’s meant Apple will allow iPhone and iPad users in the EU to delete the company’s flagship apps, including Safari, the App Store, and even its photo and messaging apps from their devices later this year. Users will be able to swap those out for third-party apps as part of Apple’s effort to get on the right side of the EU’s Digital Market Act (and avoid a massive fine), which aims to give smaller tech companies more of a shot to compete with Apple’s software.
While users were already able to swap out the native browser and other apps, the latest change will make the option more apparent. That’s important because the vast majority of people stick with the software they have because it’s simply the path of least resistance.
These moves are a big deal for Apple, which makes a big and growing chunk of its revenue off of its so-called Services division, which reported $24 billion in revenue in the latest quarter. That includes fees from App Store and payment transactions as well as the tens of billions a year Apple gets from its deal with Google, which pays to be the exclusive search engine powering Safari on iPhones.
They are also part of a steady stream of announcements that represent a slow but steady dismantling of Apple’s walled garden.
Last week, Fortnite maker Epic Games was finally able to launch an app store available to iPhone users in Europe.
Apple also announced last week that users in the US, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the UK, will soon be able to use alternate near-field communication payment apps to Apple Pay.
