Apple’s Browser Engine Ban Continues, Despite DMA Rules

Apple’s Still Playing Games with Browser Competition

Fifteen months after the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) forced Apple to open up iOS to rival browser engines, nothing’s really changed. Safari remains the only browser on iPhones that gets to run its own engine—everyone else is stuck using Apple’s slower, outdated WebKit tech. Apple claims they’ve “allowed” competitors like Chrome and Firefox to switch, but behind the scenes, they’ve rigged the system to make it impossible.

It’s not hard to see why. Safari isn’t just another app for Apple—it’s a cash cow. By keeping it dominant, Apple protects an estimated $20 billion per year from Google’s search deal. Every percentage of market share Safari loses costs Apple $200 million. Worse, letting real browsers compete would unleash web apps as true alternatives to the App Store, threatening Apple’s 30% cut on subscriptions and downloads.

So how does Apple block progress? Simple: bureaucracy and bad-faith rules. If Mozilla or Google want to bring their own engines to iOS, they’d have to abandon all their existing EU users and start from zero—a financial death sentence. Web developers outside Europe can’t even test these hypothetical new browsers, making compatibility a nightmare. And Apple’s contracts are full of one-sided “security” demands they’ve never had to follow themselves.

The DMA was supposed to end this. Its rules explicitly ban Apple from forcing WebKit on rivals, aiming to free developers and users from Safari’s limitations. But Apple’s response has been to twist the law’s wording, pretending that technically allowing competition (while making it useless in practice) counts as compliance.

The EU shouldn’t fall for it. Real enforcement—fines, deadlines, and strict oversight—is the only language Apple understands. Until then, your iPhone will stay a walled garden, and the web will kee
p lagging behind because Apple profits from holding it back.