Came to post this - the proposals are more of a publicity stunt than actually "opening" up ios platform to developers. And the reason they are doing it because

Came to post this - the proposals are more of a publicity stunt than actually "opening" up ios platform to developers. And the reason they are doing it because others have started complaining about Apple's abuse: > ... Apple’s closed system to prohibit users from setting third-party apps as defaults was questioned last year during a hearing of a U.S. House of Representatives antitrust panel. Lawmakers pressed the issue of whether iPhone users can make non-Apple apps their defaults in categories including web browsers, maps, email and music. > ... Last year, Stockholm-based Spotify submitted an antitrust complaint to the European Union, saying Apple squeezes rival services by imposing a 30% cut for subscriptions made via the App Store. Apple responded that Spotify wants the benefits of the App Store without paying for them. As part of its complaint, Spotify singled out the inability to run on the HomePod and become the default music player in Siri, Apple’s voice-activated digital assistant. It's good that Apple wants to avoid the fines and bad publicity and is willing to change its practices. But unless they change their philosophy and business model they will never be truly open and we customers will continue to be at their mercy and get screwed. > ... The company currently pre-installs 38 default apps on iPhones and iPads, Bloomberg News has reported, including the Safari web browser, Maps, Messages and Mail. Imagine that - Apple PRE-INSTALLS 38 DEFAULT app. We are used to complaining about computer and mobile manufactures that bundle apps on Windows and Android platforms but we accept this as a de-facto thing with Apple without a whimper. And this really, really really needs to change. A developer should be able to use whatever rendering engine s/he wants to create a browser on ios and user should have the freedom to install apps from outside the app store. Developers and users, who are both paying Apple, should be fighting for their consumer rights more aggressively rather than just giving in ... And it shouldn't stop with just Apple, but every other corporate in the tech sector who are abusing their position due to lax regulation in this industry.