The Digital Markets Act (DMA), which entered into force on March 7, provides, among other things, for EU users to freely choose a given browser.
To comply with the new European legislation, Apple added a new default browser selection screen in iOS 17.4 with a random list of alternative suggestions that will be highlighted immediately after the update – as soon as you open Safari. To be included in this list, a browser must have at least 5,000 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 installation alternatives, seems to have already benefited from the new law. In its most recent report, the company reported an overall increase of more than 164% in iOS customers, with growth of 402% in France, for example, and 143%, 68% and 56% in Spain, Poland and Germany, respectively.
On March 6, Google launched a similar selection screen for Android users – it should be displayed during the initial setup of a smartphone or tablet.
Opera also reported an increase in the number of Android users in some key markets – France also stood out here, where the increase in smartphone owners with this OS amounted to more than 54% 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 looking for new and innovative products that can provide a great online experience,” said Jørgen Arnesen, Executive Vice President – 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
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