Under iOS 14, users will for the first time be able to freely choose both the browser and the mail application. Strictly speaking, third-party applications can be set as the default app instead of Mail and Safari. But it's probably not quite that simple.
There are iPhone users who prefer third-party browsers to Safari. But Safari is currently the default browser in iOS. However, this is set to change in iOS 14. Users will be free to choose whether they want to use Safari or another browser as their default app. The same applies to the mail application. But it won't be quite that easy. The third-party applications in question must meet special requirements to become part of the selection, as has now become known.
Providers must request authorization
Now Apple has a documentation published, which looks at the whole thing in detail. In it, the company explains which requirements browsers and email applications have to meet. According to Apple, developers must implement certain guidelines. Only when these have been met do they have the opportunity to request the corresponding permission. As soon as approval has been given, users can save the respective third-party application as the default app. Standard browser apps must offer a text field for entering a URL, search tools for finding relevant links on the Internet, or curated lists of bookmarks. When opening a URL, these apps must navigate directly to the specified destination and display the expected web content without redirecting to an unexpected address. However, apps developed with parental controls or a locked mode can restrict navigation.
Potential candidates must first upgrade
Email applications that are set as default must be able to send a message to any valid email recipient and receive a message from any email sender. Apple explains that apps that offer user-controlled functions for checking incoming emails are allowed. Third-party browser applications that are set as default open automatically when a URL is tapped, while third-party email applications open when a mailto: link is tapped. Interested developers will therefore have to upgrade before users are able to set corresponding apps as the default application. It may therefore take some time before the first apps qualify for the new feature. (Photo by hadrian / Bigstockphoto)
