Hey everyone, it’s an exciting day for Apple users, especially those in the EU! Apple is dropping iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4 today, and these updates are packed with some pretty significant changes to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which is about to go into effect.
Now, if you’re in the EU, you’ll be able to access third-party app stores on your iPhone or iPad. That’s right, Apple is finally opening up its ecosystem a bit. But keep in mind, all the DMA-related features will only be available to our friends in the EU.
Another big change for EU users is that browsers other than Safari can now use whatever rendering engine they want. No more being forced to use Apple’s WebKit! And when you open up Safari for the first time after updating, you’ll be greeted with a browser choice screen. Pretty cool, huh?
But wait, there’s more! If you’re an EU iPhone user, you’ll also be able to use NFC with alternative wallet and banking apps. Say goodbye to being stuck with just Apple Pay.
Now, for everyone else, there are still some nice additions in this update. You’ll get automatic podcast transcriptions in English, Spanish, French, and German. Plus, there are some fun new emoji to play with, like a mushroom, phoenix, lime, broken chain, and shaking heads.
Oh, and before I forget, this update also fixes a couple of reportedly exploited security issues. So, even if you’re not in the EU, you should definitely update your device as soon as possible.
All in all, it’s a pretty significant update, especially for our friends in the EU. Let me know what you think about these changes in the comments below!
