EU iPhones will be able to change the default phone and messaging apps soon

Apple will soon let iPhone and iPad users in the European Union choose default apps for phone calls, messaging, keyboards, password managers, and more. These options will be available later this year in a new "Default Apps" section in Settings, according to an update on Thursday.

In the spring of next year, Apple says it will also let users set default navigation, translation apps, and call spam filter apps. Along with these new options, iPhone users in the EU will add the ability to delete the App Store, Messages, Camera, Photos, and Safari apps. The only apps Apple won't let users delete are Settings and Phone.

Some small changes are coming to Apple's browser choice screen in the EU that pops up when a user first opens Safari on their iPhone, allowing users to install alternate browsers like Firefox, Chrome, or DuckDuckGo.

After the update arrives, Apple will require any EU users with Safari set as their default to scroll through the entire list of default browsers before selecting an option and will also display the browser's App Store caption on the choice screen. Additionally, developers of the browsers listed will get access to more data about the performance of the choice screen.

Apple already lets users in the EU change their default browser and email app. It has also started opening up the iPhone to third-party app marketplaces, with the Epic Games Store opening on the platform last week.