The next big iOS update, iOS 17.4, is due in early March. It has plenty of new features, including an update to the cool new Stolen Device Protection which has just launched. But Apple has more than striking new features in the update, and it could change the iPhone forever.
Apple iOS 17.4 will radically change your iPhone.
Just as important are the changes which are coming for iPhone users in the EU, which will significantly open up the device to third-party influences. Is that a good or a bad thing? Read on for the latest analysis.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, in his most recent Power On newsletter, describes the changes as a sweeping overhaul of the software that powers the iPhone. While it’s currently affecting iOS, the App Store and the Safari browser in the EU, it “is more than just a local change. It’s a peek at the future of the platform and one that the company will likely have to adopt globally.”
In other words, the changes which allow for rival app marketplaces to exist, which change Apple’s commission fees to app developers, and changes to which web browser is the default choice on the iPhone, will probably spread beyond the EU to affect everyone. While many will welcome greater variety in app providers, and which web browser they can easily use, Apple says the new system could be less secure.
Gurman points out that the changes will affect Apple’s bottom line, as well as the iPhone’s security and privacy—and these are elements Apple takes seriously. He says, “As it frees up the iPhone’s software, the company is rolling out a slew of new anti-malware tools and warnings for both consumers and developers. It’s even requiring apps downloaded outside its App Store to go through a light review process and notarization.”
Apple has new terms for developers who are thinking of moving from the App Store to rival marketplaces. The company has spelt out a deal which will save developers significantly if they stay with Apple’s current ecosystem by cutting commission levels.
For those developers who choose a different way, however, the result is reduced revenue for Apple, which it aims to make up for with new fees, such as the Core Technology Fee. This requires payments for each app install. Though the individual fee is low, $0.54, or 0.5€, and though this cost only kicks in above the first million installations, it all adds up.
Gurman says, “Apple says that 99% of developers will see the amount they pay stay the same or decline. That all sounds great until you dive into the core technology fee, which feels like it was designed to strike right at Spotify, Meta and other large developers that offer their apps for free.”
What’s clear is that from early March, the App Store, and by extension the iPhone, will change radically. Apple’s changes have come as a response to the Digital Marketplace Act, and may change further, but the future is clearly going to be very different from where we are now. As Gurman says, “It all adds up to an iPhone that’s more customizable and less hostile to outside software.” Satisfying EU regulators may lead to a new era for the iPhone, and it could change how we use the phone as a result. Will there be changes to the software beyond what has already been announced? Stay tuned.
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