iOS 17.4 is eagerly awaited, especially in Europe

Apple has just released iOS 17.3, the latest version of its operating system for iPhone, but the Apple brand should quickly release another important update, iOS17.4. The Cupertino company actually has adeadline, it must comply with new European regulations before March 6.

The latter demand, among other things, that Apple opens its application download system to other stores, thus breaking the monopoly of the App Store. Currently no beta version of iOS 17.4 has yet been released by Apple, but it is expected this week.

iOS 17.4 a “special” version arrives in Europe

The Apple brand should therefore publish in a few days a first version of its App Store 2.0, open to competition. This update should be very special for the Apple brand, given that the changes requested by Europe should only arrive in the countries concerned.

The other nations of the world will always have access to an App Store closed to competition. In the past, Apple had violently opposed the proposed Digital Marketing Act (DMA). The Cupertino company particularly feared that opening the App Store to competition would be a boon for cybercriminals and mass espionage.

Europe does not give up an inch

Apple is very committed to the issue of protecting user privacy, and the Cupertino company does not want to see years of effort wiped out by a third-party application download platform with questionable business practices.

For the moment, it is difficult to know whether third-party applications will compete with the App Store from March 6. Google, which is one of the big favorites on this subject, has not yet taken a position and the rumors go in both directions.

The European Commission, for its part, does not intend to give the slightest gift to Apple. It also announced this week that it had obtained from Apple that the Apple brand would open its NFC chip service to competition. It should therefore be possible to face Apple Pay within a few months. Very good news for French banks which will all be able to launch their own contactless payment system, without having to go through Apple and its generous commissions.