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The EU makes it possible: After WhatsApp for telephony and text messages, you can now also set Google Maps as the iPhone map standard.
Icon of Google Maps on an iPhone: Now replaces Apple Maps if desired.
(Image: Mino Surkala / Shutterstock)
More and more third-party apps can be defined as the default application on iOS. After browsers and recently also telephony and text messages, it is now the turn of maps and navigation. This means that Apple no longer has the upper hand and the desired app appears instead.
However, this is only being implemented in the European Union – The Digital Markets Act (DMA), with its very broad regulatory options, is the first to allow this. However, it is not enough for Apple to release a category. Instead, companies must contact Apple. The responsible team must first approve the inclusion in the default apps menu, which can be found in the system settings. This has now worked for Google: since the release of iOS 18.4 last Monday, users have reported that a corresponding entry is available after installing the latest Google Maps update. "If you have multiple navigation apps, you can change the default app," it says in the menu.
WhatsApp had previously been updated at the end of March to make it the default application in two categories: – - telephony and text messages –. Other messaging services, such as Signal, could also do this, but the technical implementation or Apple's approval is still pending. In addition to browsers, telephony and text messages, email apps can also be selected. With iOS 18.4, navigation/maps and the translations section – where Apple's own Translate app is used by default – can be specified.
Interestingly, the Translations section is also enabled in other regions, including the USA. It is unclear why Apple does this. However, this is probably just the beginning. The European Union has already explained to Apple in great detail what the company still has to open up. This is not just about default apps, but also about the provision of developer interfaces. For example, smartwatches from alternative providers should have just as many options as the Apple Watch.
In some cases, Apple is still taking its time to help manufacturers of alternative apps with implementation. This week, for example, a German company complained that it wanted to access the menu for email apps. Apple ignored it for several months, they said. However, talks are now underway.
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(bsc)