The Digital Marketplace Act (DMA), which came into force on March 7, provides for free choice of a given browser for EU users, among other things.
To comply with the new European legislation, Apple added to iOS 17.4 new the screen for selecting the specified browser with an arbitrary list of suggestions that will pop up as soon as you open Safari after the update — as soon as you open Safari. To be included in this list, a browser must have at least 5000 downloads in the EU App Store in the last year (if a company has more than one browser app, only the most popular will be included).
Opera, which is offered among the alternatives for installation, seems to have already benefited from the new law In its latest report, the company reported an overall increase of more than 164% in iOS customers: in France, for example, the growth reached 402%, and in Spain, Poland, and Germany, it grew by 143%, 68%, and 56%, respectively.
A similar selection screen was launched by Google for Android users on March 6 — it should be displayed during the initial setup of a smartphone or tablet.
Opera has also reported an increase in the number of Android users in some key markets — here too France stood out, where more than 54% of owners of smartphones with this OS joined Opera on the day of the launch of the selection screen on Google.
«We see this as a sign of two things: firstly, the importance of regulation to ensure a level playing field, and secondly — that users are hungry for new and innovative products that can deliver a great online experience,» said Jorgen Arnesen, Executive Vice President of Opera Mobile.
The results confirm a previous Opera survey conducted before March 6, which showed that 80% of European smartphone users are ready to try the new browser.
Source: Bleeping Computer