Apple’s push to make the iPhone more customizable and personal has brought a new iOS 18.4 feature: now there are two new categories for setting default apps, depending on where you live.
Translation default available broadly, while Navigation is limited to the EU
Apple has offered some form of default app controls in the Settings app for years. But recently in iOS 18.2, the feature expanded with new categories and a dedicated hub.
Now in iOS 18.4, the category options are growing again.
Translation is a new category available in the US and abroad, letting you change the default from Apple’s Translate app to a third-party option like Google Translate.
And if you’re in the EU, you’ll see a second long-anticipated addition: Navigation.
It’s a shame that Navigation is restricted to EU users, but if you do happen to live in the EU you’ll be able to change your iPhone’s default from Apple Maps to another option, such as Google Maps.
Default app categories all work a bit differently, but generally speaking, your default app will be used by links and built-in OS tools you encounter system-wide for performing a certain function.
Top comment by Augusto Galindo
It is a shame considering the only app that is totally useless in several countries is precisely the Maps App, we can argue Safari vs Chrome, Mail vs Gmail, Apple Music vs Spotify, etc. But maps is simply useless, in my country I can’t even get directions from one place to another, and everything is outdated, when I try to track a relative or an AirTag I have to do a series of extra steps to get it to open on Google Maps. Why is it limited to the EU? Apple should at least make a decent app, and we have this problem since iOS 6 🙃.
For example, if you change your Navigation default to Waze, tapping an address your friend sends you in an iMessage should open that location directly in your preferred app.
Default apps can be configured on your iPhone by opening Settings ⇾ Apps ⇾ Default Apps.
In the US, you should see these nine category options, with Navigation as the tenth in the EU:
- Messaging
- Calling
- Call Filtering
- Browser App
- Translation
- Passwords & Codes
- Contactless App
- Keyboards
Do you plan to change default apps in iOS 18.4? Let us know in the comments.
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