WhatsApp can be set as the default on iPhones for the first time
For the first time, iPhone users will have the option to select a non-Apple app as the default for messages and calls. Siri doesn't want to know about it.
(Image: Koshiro K/Shutterstock.com)
Apple is forced to open up important iOS default settings for other apps: For the first time, users now have the option to set a non-Apple app as the default for messages and calls on their iPhone with WhatsApp. This functionality is enabled by the latest WhatsApp version 25.8.74 in iOS 18. Other messaging services can also support this, but have apparently not yet implemented it.
New EU rules force opening
Under pressure from the Digital Markets Act and the EU Commission, Apple had to integrate an extensive settings dialog for standard apps to give users significantly more options. The default apps for email clients and browsers have already been able to be defined for some time, with iOS 18.2, "Messages", messaging and calls were added as categories. With iOS 18.4, navigation and translation have also been added, although the latter two are only available within the EU.
With the significantly expanded settings for standard apps, Apple was responding to an investigation by the EU Commission, which was looking into possible violations of the Digital Markets Act. This included a ban on preferential treatment of the manufacturer's own pre-installed apps. The Commission now appears to be satisfied with these changes, and observers expect that at least no penalty will be imposed here – but possibly in other areas.
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Siri ignores other standard apps
Apps must support this new freedom so that they ultimately appear in the appropriate place in iOS (Settings > Apps > Default apps). In practice, however, this changes relatively little: the standard apps for messages are activated by tapping im: and sms: URLs from other apps, for telephony this applies to tel: URLs. However, Apple's Siri voice assistant system seems to ignore the change to standard apps. It continues to rely on its own hidden system, which allows users to switch between different messaging services for individual recipients, for example.
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