The separate-binary requirement makes it completely DOA so I assume they're still breaking the law.
I know this isn't new for Japan, but this requirement caught my eye:<p>> Use memory-safe programming languages, or features that improve memory safety within other languages, within the alternative web browser engine at a minimum for all code that processes web content<p>Would Apple themselves meet this requirement? Isn't WebKit C++? Of course, I'm not sure what would be considered "features that improve memory safety within other languages," that's kind of vague.
Does this mean we'll finally have "real" firefox with support for ublock origin on iOS?
Could’ve happened some time ago already in the EU, so there must be reasons for Firefox an Google not to ship their own engines (yet?).
Apple is going to (mostly) obey the letter of the law but they will continue to resist strongly in every way they can. Onerous requirements, overzealous enforcement, bad APIs with limited capabilities and no workarounds for bugs. Alternative browser engines are going to be a bad experience for a long time due to this.<p>I doubt Mozilla or Google will be willing to spend the many developer-years it will take to fully port every feature of a whole engine and properly maintain it in such a hostile environment. I expect to see some hobbyist ports but not something worth using for a long time.
My hope for laws such as the ones Japan and the EU enacted was that companies would see the writing on the wall and change their practices worldwide, if only for cost reasons (it presumably being more expensive to maintain multiple sets of rules.) However, these companies are now so large that they can choose to absorb any inefficiencies on a country-by-country basis.
2026 should be the year when every tech-minded person dumps Apple (and Google) for good and either starting running either a free Android OS (Graphene, Lineage or a couple of other variants) or a Linux phone.<p>At this point, Apple and Google devices are nothing more than instruments of coercion and mass surveillance.
Unfortunately, I appreciate the deep integration between my phone and my laptop too much to drop either
I don't have Apple devices to compare, but I think KDE Connect can closely replicate this, entirely locally. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple's "deep integrations" rely on cloud components that are privacy-violating by design (even if Apple promises not to look at the data flowing through their servers).
UX is much worse imo on graphene compared to iOS
I disagree. I had an iPhone in the past and find the minimalist Graphene UI refreshing. It's like comparing KDE on Arch to Windows 11 or MacOS. Nothing gets in your way or distracts you, the OS is what an OS is supposed to be, a platform for managing and launching apps.
It’s definitely something that varies from person to person. I tried putting Graphene on a <i>secondary</i> Android device (an old Pixel 3XL) and compared to the stock ROM or more typical AOSP fork (e.g. LineageOS or Pixel Experience), I found it rather frustrating. I can’t imagine running it on my daily driver.<p>Similarly with Linux, the sheer number of rough edges, papercuts, and quirks is still too high (regardless of if I’m using a big name DE or hyper minimal tiling WM or somewhere in between) for them to serve as my main desktop environment.
<i>UX</i>, not UI. perfect example is you copy something on your laptop and paste it on your phone. trivial on iDevice.
Trivial as in it works well sometimes and badly in other times with no explanation for why. That’s my experience anyway.
KDE connect over Bluetooth or WiFi seems ideal for this, so it's definitely possible. I am not sure how the iDevices deal with this, but I really don't want anything cloud-connected.
Tailscale drop is better and works across devices.
tail scale drop is much more complicated than literally copying and pasting on iDevice. that's literally all you do, no setup, nothing and this is just one example for one type of action.<p><a href="https://tailscale.com/kb/1106/taildrop" rel="nofollow">https://tailscale.com/kb/1106/taildrop</a><p>look at all of that, lol. iDevice is literally copy and paste any file or text. the end - you don't even have to set it up.
this doesn't work sometimes. my wife complains frequently
KDE Connect is more reliable than Continuity Clipboard, in my experience.
>UX is much worse imo on graphene compared to iOS<p>Freedom and privacy exist on graphene.
2026 should be the <i>last</i> year when anyone technical-minded comes around to the realization that Google/Apple are in the Fed's pocket. If you're making the switch in 2027 or 2028, it's probably too late for you.
The fact we still can't get this in the US is atrocious. They have already paid the cost to implement this for the EU and Japan, but simply don't allow it for US users because... spite, I guess? Horrible.<p>It reminds me of when I asked for my account to be deleted from some online learning site (Udacity maybe?) And they're response was: "Nope, we only do that for European users." Like they went through all the effort of implementing a proper way to delete your data, but they just... <i>don't do it</i> if you're not in the right geographic area.
Why only Japan? Seems like something forced them to in Japan.
It's in the EU and Japan, so basically all regions that have pushed back against Apple's anti-competitive ways.<p><a href="https://developer.apple.com/documentation/bundleresources/entitlements/com.apple.developer.web-browser-engine.host" rel="nofollow">https://developer.apple.com/documentation/bundleresources/en...</a>
Yes, there is a new Japanese law that forces them.
The title is misleading. "Allows" need to be in quotes - they did everything they could to make sure this won't change anything in practice. Screw Apple.
Could you elaborate? Other than the "Japan" requirement it seems legit?<p>I guess the requirements are pretty onerous, but they all seem like table stakes for a browser these days (Firefox or Chrome should have no problem with them, for instance.)
Did Japan decide to push proper competition laws?<p>Time to force Apple to do it everywhere. Very long overdue.
I agree with the “enforce competition laws” sentiment, but in this context, <i>enforced naively</i>, all it’ll do is entrench the dominant browser engine, Blink, even more across the mobile ecosystem.<p>I’m sure some devs will love this. But equally, some may worry about the monoculture implications.
>Apple will only authorize developers to implement alternative browser engines after meeting specific criteria and who commit to a number of ongoing privacy and security requirements<p>There's a chair in every hotel room for iOS users. You can't even chose the software that runs on devices you bought (i don't even say "own").