The Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into force on March 7, among other things provides users from the EU with the freedom to choose their default browser.
To comply with the new European legislation, Apple has added a new default browser selection screen with a random list of alternative options in iOS 17.4, which will appear immediately after the update - as soon as you open Safari. To be included in this list, a browser must have at least 5000 downloads in the App Store in the EU over the past year (if a company has more than one browser application, only the most popular one will be included).
Opera, which is offered as an alternative to installation, seems to have already benefited from the new law. In the company's latest report, it reported a growth in iOS users of over 164% overall: in France, for example, the growth reached an impressive 402%, and in Spain, Poland, and Germany - 143%, 68%, and 56%, respectively.
Google also launched a similar selection screen for Android users on March 6 - it should be displayed during the initial setup of the smartphone or tablet.
Opera also reported an increase in the number of Android users in some key markets - France stood out here as well, where on the day of the launch of the selection screen on Google, the increase in smartphone owners with this OS was more than 54%.
"We see this as a sign of two things: firstly, the importance of regulation to ensure a level playing field, and secondly, that users are looking for new and innovative products that can provide a great online experience," said Jorgen Arnesen, Executive Vice President of Opera Mobile.
The results confirm a preliminary survey by Opera conducted before March 6, which showed that 80% of European smartphone users are willing to try a new browser.
Source: Bleeping Computer
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