We know Apple as that company that ships a ton of iPhones each year and trapping them into the lovely walled garden. They are also known for limiting you to fully customize your phone or change the default options so that is why this report is interesting.
According to Bloomberg, Apple is considering allowing 3rd party apps on the iPhones and iPads to run by default. They are considering letting people choose 3rd party web browsers or mail apps as their default options. Currently you can only use their Safari browser or mail app by default.
The Cupertino giant has never allowed 3rd party apps to run by default which wa seen as a move to force people to use their own software. Billions of people out there use Apple products daily so their strategy worked, in a way.
The surprise train is not over yet. Apple is also considering opening up the HomePod to 3rd party music services which includes their chief rival Spotify. According to reviewers, this was one of the major reasons people didn’t like the HomePod since it worked well with Apple Music but didn’t allow you to natively play Spotify or other streaming services. The HomePod was praised for its excellent audio quality.
If Apple opens up the HomePod to Spotify, it might be a blessing. It lags behind in functionality to the other smart speakers and yet it easily whoop other smart speakers in audio quality. This might make the HomePod more attractive to buyers and consequently sell more.
Also according to the report, under discussion is whether to let users in competing music services set competing music services as default.
If Apple ends up going forward with this, they could appear later this year via iOS 14 or through a software update for the HomePod.
