How many browsers is Safari? Wrong answers only

How many browsers is Safari? Wrong answers only،

You might think that Safari is just one browser. Apple itself presents it as the same browser on different devices, but guess what? The company has kept us in the dark this whole time.

Apple says it has three browsers called Safari

Under the European Commission’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple, along with Alphabet, Amazon, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft, have been designated as custodians.

The DMA is a regulation put in place last year to prevent tech giants from engaging in anti-competitive practices and imposing unfair terms. Gatekeepers are such dominant platforms that consumers cannot avoid them.

These six companies were given six months in September to bring the 22 core platform services into compliance with the DMA.

How many browsers does Safari have? Wrong answers only

A company is considered a gatekeeper if it provides an important bridge between companies and its users with respect to the platform’s core services. if:

He achieves a certain turnover
It provides service to over 45 million monthly active end users in the EU or 10,000 annually active business users in the EU.
If the second criterion has been met in the last three years

Safari respects thresholds, but only if you consider it a single browser

By boasting about its Continuity feature, Apple is talking about the similarity of the Safari browser. However, to prove that Safari is not considered a gateway for the respective main (browser) platform, Apple claims that it has three browsers, not just one, reports The register.

The company says it offers five app stores and five operating systems and, aside from iOS, these core platform services do not meet the usage level set out in the legislation.

Apple has reiterated its position that each of its Safari web browsers constitutes a [core platform service]. According to Apple, Safari on iOS, Safari on iPadOS, and Safari on macOS are considered web browsers within the meaning of [the DMA requirements].” – European Commission

Apple says the DMA only covers Safari for iPhone. He argues that his Safari browsers each offers different interface options and has different uses. The European Commission of course does not believe this and Apple’s insistence has led it to investigate whether iPadOS and iMessage should also be considered platform services controlled by a gatekeeper.

Previously, the company was declared a gatekeeper in the categories of operating systems (iOS), intermediation services (AppStore) and Internet browsers (Safari). This is why Apple will have to allow third-party app stores on iOS, at least in Europe.

Apple’s approach violates the DMA’s anti-circumvention provision which warns against subdividing a platform’s market share to circumvent regulation.

The commission identified six problems with Apple’s claims and concluded that “Safari qualifies as a unique web browser regardless of the device through which this service is accessed.”