Apple will let everyone set new default phone and messaging apps with iOS 18.2

When Apple said that iPhone owners in the EU would be able to set new default apps for things like calling and messaging, it sounded a lot like only people in the EU would get that option.

That's not the case, though: a note on Apple's developer website states that all users worldwide can set new default apps for calling and messaging in iOS 18.2. Maybe the continental divide between iPhones in the US and EU won't be so wide after all.

The first iOS 18.2 developer beta went out today, and it didn't take long for 9to5Mac to spot the new options. There's a whole new section in the settings menu dedicated to managing default apps. This includes defaults you could already reassign, like your browser or email app. Other options include call filtering, passwords, and keyboards. Crucially, this same list of options appears for users in the US who have downloaded the beta.

Apple has introduced an unprecedented level of flexibility to the iPhone over the past year as a response to European Union regulations; we likely have EU regulators to thank for the addition of RCS support in iOS 18.

But the big stuff, like support for alternative app stores and browser engines, has mostly been confined to the EU. A side effect is that a European iPhone was starting to look quite a bit different from one in the US, which was weird. But by spreading some of these new options across borders, Apple will maintain better consistency in its product. At the very least, it's a little more fun.