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| Apple can prevent iOS apps from preinstalling |
These days, Apple faces a lot of control and pressure in running its business on the App Store.
Epic Games may have started this story, but it also created a ripple effect as the iPhone maker's dominance in the app ecosystem has been scrutinized more closely than ever.
The US Congress is proposing a number of bills that will change the way Apple preloads apps on the iPhone and iPad.
These billing can allow users to completely remove pre-installed proprietary apps and prevent Apple from pre-installing them in the first place.
Pre-installed apps have always been a point of contention in the mobile world. It's called bloatware on Android. This is because it takes up storage space and does not provide value that users really want.
However, the situation on the iOS side is not that bad. However, it has different characteristics as it is accused of monopolizing the app market by putting its own apps on devices by default.
From an anti-competitive point of view, this means that new iPhone users are unlikely to try to replace Apple's apps. Suppose they even know that these alternatives exist.
Apple has a problem:
As a manufacturer of iPhone and iOS devices, Apple has the advantage that it can recognize the apps pre-installed on each device.
There are now 5 antitrust laws that argue that this should not be the case.
A law will prevent Apple from pre-installing competing alternative apps through the App Store.
Another project also prevents Apple from blocking users who want to uninstall all pre-installed apps on all devices.
However, since iOS 12, Apple has allowed pre-installed apps to be removed.
In the European Union, Apple is fighting a different battle with iOS apps. Digital Market Invoice or DMA requires the company to allow apps to be downloaded or installed outside of the App Store.
While this is similar to Android and opens up the iOS ecosystem, Apple CEO Tim Cook argued that this is not in the best interest of iPhone users, as such a law would pose risks to the security of the platform.