EU Suggests That Smartphones Should Come Without Preinstalled Apps

While we’re not quite sure how the lawsuit between Apple and Epic will turn out, if anything it managed to spark a conversation about how companies like Apple handle apps and developers, in which a growing number of people and governments are starting to think that maybe Apple has too much power.

So much so that over in the EU, the Financial Times reports (paywall) that a draft legislation was created called the Digital Services Act. This act proposes that there should be a limit to the powers of big tech companies, like Apple and their App Store. It even suggests that maybe smartphones and laptops should not come with preinstalled apps and that those choices should be left to consumers.

Pretty much all operating systems come with preinstalled apps. This is designed to make things easier for non-tech savvy users who might be confused and spend unnecessary time searching for simple apps like calculators or a note-taking app. One could also make the argument that users are more than welcome to install third-party apps if they wish, and that save for whatever rules that Apple or Google might apply to their app stores, these apps can be easily found.

That being said, we’re not sure if this legislation will pass and we expect that not just Apple, but many other tech companies will probably not be too thrilled by this.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones, General
Tags: Apps, Legal, Social Hit