In iOS 16, Apple Pay may finally be compatible with Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. Apple Pay works with Edge and Chrome on iOS 16 beta 4, according to MacRumors writer Steve Moser, who posted his discovery on Twitter.
When using Edge, Moser’s screenshots show a “Continue with Apple Pay” option on Apple’s checkout page. Apple Pay only works on Safari on iOS 15 and older. Therefore, you can’t use any other browser to pay with Apple Pay when buying online.
However, Apple Pay is still not available in the latest macOS beta. Moser points out that this is likely owing to Apple’s requirements that Chrome, Edge, and Firefox all use Safari’s rendering engine, WebKit, on iOS. Because third-party browsers are free to utilize their engines on macOS, we may not see Apple Pay functionality outside Safari on Macs very soon.
However, Apple’s reversal on iOS could be linked to the European Union’s plans to tighten down on big tech’s anticompetitive activities. The Digital Markets Act, slated to take effect in the spring of 2023, imposes rules on giant corporations like Apple, Meta, and Google to foster competition with smaller firms. The Register obtained a draft of the new regulation that mainly targets corporations that require app developers to use their rendering engine. While this adjustment may indicate that Apple is attempting to comply with the impending restrictions, the corporation is unlikely to go down without a fight – it spent millions of dollars to comply with the Netherlands’ rules on in-app payment systems in Dutch.
