The news about iOS and iPadOS 14 were revealed at the opening of the National Apple Developers Conference. In the presentation, we were able to see hints of the novelties of these new operating systems. Nevertheless, much of the news remained hidden in the developer betas themselves that Apple made available minutes after the end of the presentation. One of those features was the ability to turn a third-party app into default application in all operating system. Appl has published the guide where it shows what are the requirements for an app to be default in iOS and iPadOS 14.
Conditions to change the default browser and email in iOS and iPadOS 14
In iOS 14 and later, users can select an app to be their default web browser or email app. To make a choice for your application, confirm that you meet the requirements below, then apply for a managed right.
These are the first lines of the guide for developers to prepare the mail and browser apps to become default applications on new operating systems. In this way, Google Chrome could become the default browser, while Gmail could become the default mail app. As long as they comply with the regulations stipulated by Apple.
As for web browsers, Apple claims that it needs certain requirements of the applications that try to unseat Safari with a single purpose:
[…] Meet specific functional criteria to protect user privacy and guarantee adequate access to Internet resources.
Regarding technical requirements, Apple requires the following points:
- Integrate HTTP and HTTPS in the Info.plist file
- Don't use any UIWebView elements
- When the app is launched, a text field needs to appear to enter a URL, search tools, or bookmark lists
When the application is launched when opening a URL:
- Required content will be displayed
- May present 'safe browsing' or other warning to avoid phishing or other issues
As for the email apps must meet three requirements:
- Set mailto schema: in Info.plist file
- Be able to send a message to any valid email
- You can receive emails from any recipient