Apple Likely To Oppose Sanchar Saathi Pre-Install Mandate, Other Companies In Review Mode

Apple is likely to oppose the mandate from the Centre to pre-install the state-owned Sanchar Saathi app, and has sought a meeting with the Department of Telecommunications for discussions, sources told NDTV Profit.

The US-based big-tech firm shared its concerns around privacy and excessive data permissions leading to its hesitation in following the order from the centre.

Samsung and others telecom firms are still reviewing the order and haven’t conveyed an official stance to the government yet.

Apple's initial opposition to the mandatory pre-installation of apps is also centered around additional costs related to research, according to the persons privy to the matter.

Clarity on the stance by the broader smartphone industry is likely to emerge in a few days.

For almost two decades, Apple has prided itself due to its 'walled garden' ecosystem in the iPhone, which promotes safety, security and privacy.

But complying with the fresh directives from the Department of Telecommunications - which includes pre-installing the app on every smartphone that is being manufactured and keeping it enabled at all times - is likely to have Apple break away from those core philosophies.

Historically, Apple has always been unappreciative towards pre-installed software, which is often derided as bloatware. Since iOS 10, the company has even allowed its users to delete its own pre-installed apps, such as calculator, Garageband, among others.

This is in sharp contrast to Android phones, where manufacturers and carriers have the liberty to load the device with their personalised set of third-party apps, whereas Apple prefers a clean, standardised set of Apple proprietary software.