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Comment by Angostura | Hacker News Reader

> iOS Safari's level as the only browser people should use.

FWIW, iOS doesn't chide you when you download Chrome or Firefox. Of course Apple requires them to use the iOS rendering engine - but that's perhaps a slightly different point.

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macOS does display something when you do, the first time ever. Initially I thought "why don't Apple get called out for that?", but upon reading this article, 1) it's once, and less intrusive, and 2) is not cringey/loaded with an air of smugness or condescension like some of these prompts.

On macOS Safari prompts me to set it as a default browser every time I launch it.

That’s interesting because it doesn’t for me as if Safari 15.1, but Chrome certainly does as of version whatever is the latest (and I use Firefox as my default on this machine).

Most browsers will, or to be more precise: I’ve never met a browser that didn’t request to be the default, but there’s usually a point where they stop asking or else a setting to disable that “feature”.

I always use Firefox and have never seen such a prompt. Do you just close the prompt without answering “no, thank you”? Maybe it is waiting for an answer?

Is it still impossible to set your default browser on iOS? That to me is even more hostile than just having me click an extra button once to download it.

I don't think so. Didn't a recent software update change this?

Started with iOS 14, so a little over a year ago.

the ability or the inability?

Ability

No. You've been able to change the default browser for years.

> Of course Apple requires them to use the iOS rendering engine

How is apple allowed to do this? Would MSoft have escaped the legal trouble back then if they had simply insisted that Netscape had to run like IE?

Forcing the rendering engine upon a browser manufacturer is just "cost of doing business" on iOS. It does not have as negative consequences as forcing an entire browser upon a user (like Microsoft is doing). Chrome on iOS can still do pretty much everything it wants, including telemetry, sync etc. The users are ensured to get a browser with a rendering engine that is carefully optimized for performance and battery life by the phone manufacturer, so I'd argue the user is actually better off.

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