No other calendar app allowed to be default: Apple rejects Proton request
Under pressure from the EU, Apple had to allow its customers to choose third-party iPhone apps as default. For calendars, the company is stonewalling.
(Image: Sebastian Trepesch / heise medien)
The Apple Calendar, pre-installed as default on iPhones, cannot be replaced by any other app – and Apple apparently has no intention of changing that. The company rejected a request from provider Proton in the summer for an iOS option to choose a different default calendar. This is evident from Apple's interoperability tracker, accessible only to registered developers. The company subsequently documents such requests, which are possible under the Digital Markets Act, there.
No other calendar possible as default
Proton therefore wished that users could define other calendar apps like Proton Calendar as the default app for appointments and events in iOS. Only then, the provider argued, could the full range of functions be provided, for example, to directly open appointment invitations or to easily add appointments from other apps and system services. So far, these always open in the Apple Calendar.
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Apple directly rejected the request at the end of August without considering any further implementation. Such a new function does not fall under Article 6, Paragraph 7 of the Digital Markets Act, which obliges gatekeepers like Apple to ensure interoperability. Third-party providers must therefore have the same access to existing system functions as the platform operator's apps and services. "The request to create a mechanism that allows users to set third-party calendar apps as default would require changes to system-wide operating system functions," Apple stated as a reason – and marked the request as "closed".
Forced setting for default apps on iPhone
For other app categories, Apple has already had to allow the default app to be changed. With browsers, a dialog box even appears that offers alternatives to choose from – a requirement of the Digital Markets Act that Apple sharply criticized.
Meanwhile, there is – not least due to pressure from the EU Commission – its own section for default apps in the iOS settings. There, in addition to browsers and email clients, navigation, messaging, translation, calling app and default app stores can be changed. Some of these, such as alternative app stores and other text messaging apps, are only available on devices in the EU. Third-party apps must integrate first to appear as an option. The concrete offering for alternative default apps is still limited.
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