The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today announced provisional findings that Apple’s restrictions on mobile browsers limit innovation and prevent new features that could benefit iPhone users. From the report:
In its report, the CMA’s independent investigation group found that Apple’s Safari browser policies prevent competing browsers from implementing certain features, such as techniques that make web pages load faster. The investigation also found that many UK app developers would like to offer Progressive Web Apps as an alternative to App Store distribution, but that Apple’s current iOS restrictions make this impractical.
In addition to competition concerns, the regulator noted that the profit-sharing agreement between Apple and Google “significantly reduces the financial incentives to compete” in the iOS mobile browser space. The CMA also found that both companies could manipulate the way browser options are displayed to users to present their own products as the clearest or easiest option.
