Apple will finally let everyone set new default phone and messaging apps
with iOS 18.2 after years of it's many consumer-unfriendly strategies.

Finally, Apple begins to join the modern world, but only after the EU threatened Apple with legal litigation for Apple's anti-consumer practices.

Now all users worldwide can set new default apps for calling and messaging
in iOS 18.2.

Slowly, Apple is forced to give Apple customers what customers of every
other common consumer operating system have always had - thanks to the EU!

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badgolferman wrote on Thu, 24 Oct 2024 01:39:23 -0000 (UTC) :

Apple will finally let everyone set new default phone and messaging apps
with iOS 18.2 after years of it's many consumer-unfriendly strategies.

Finally, Apple begins to join the modern world, but only after the EU
threatened Apple with legal litigation for Apple's anti-consumer practices. >>
Now all users worldwide can set new default apps for calling and messaging >> in iOS 18.2.

Slowly, Apple is forced to give Apple customers what customers of every
other common consumer operating system have always had - thanks to the EU! >>

Will there be available new phone and messaging apps in the App Store?

Hi badgolferman,

Interesting question indeed! In iOS 18.2 there are default options for:
The default email MUA
The default MMS/SMS/VOIP messaging app
The default phone call app
The default call-filtering app (i.e., caller ID & spam-filtering)
The default web browser app
The default password & codes app
The default keyboard app

Whereas with Android there are additionally options for
The default homescreen app (aka app launcher)
The default digital assistant app (which will be AI in the future)
The default for the ability to open web links from inside of apps

Where, in Android, you can have two sets of those defaults (work & play).

If nospam were still spamming us, he'd claim that nobody wants any of that,
and nobody needs it - but nospam's contract with Apple must have expired.

Same with Lewis and JF Mezei (although I miss Michelle Steiner & David
Empson - who - let's be clear - knew more than all the zealots combined).

Bearing in mind that I speak with you differently than with the others, (because you're normal) I readily admit ignorance of the answer to that.

Personally, I had never expected Apple to cave in to allow other phone and messaging apps to be the default - so it's a good question you ask.

Especially since we all had the privilege of reading Apple executives'
internal emails during the Epic deposition proving that the one thing Apple thought was most dangerous, is interoperability with Android owners.

I don't know the answer to your question, where I am looking it up now...
<https://duckduckgo.com/?t=h_&q=apple+ios+18.2+default+messaging+phone+app>

This article says "The sections for Messaging and Calling don't list
anything other than Messages, FaceTime, and Phone, respectively".
<https://www.macrumors.com/2024/10/23/ios-18-2-default-apps-section/>

This article implies Google could "sweep in" and create an iOS messenger
<https://www.howtogeek.com/ios-18-2-change-default-apps/>

Bear in mind that this article says iOS 18.2 isn't available to most people because it's only (currently) available on "Devices that support Apple Intelligence" (which is extremely few devices indeed, due to paltry RAM).
<https://bgr.com/tech/ios-18-2-lets-everyone-set-new-default-apps-for-calling-and-texting/>

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