iOS 14 Default Browser, Mail Get Reverted After A Reboot

iOS 14 finally brought a long-awaited feature that allowed users to change their default browser and email apps but it seems to be a bit confused about that itself. Users are reporting that settings for these apps don't seem to stick and get reset every time your restart your iPhone or iPad. While most likely a bug, it doesn't seem to bode well considering everything else that's happening with iOS 14 and Apple in general.

For the longest time, Apple refused to allow iPhone and iPad owners to set their default apps. Sure, you can use Google Chrome or Microsoft Outlook but they have to do so manually. Any link they click on in other apps, however, will still open up Safari or Mail, pretty much requiring a careful juggling app to make sure you're in the right place.

iOS 14 allows you to change the only default browser and email apps and you can only pick from a selection of approved apps, like Chrome, Microsoft Edge, DuckDuckGo, Spark, and Hey. A bug, however, was discovered where that setting gets reverted to the default Safari and Mail apps every time you reboot the device.

This is most likely just a bug though Apple hasn't yet acknowledged it as such. It is, however, just one of the nitpicks surrounding the iOS 14 launch, the biggest of which is Apple's decision to give developers less than a day's warning before rolling it out to the public. That could mean that users will be running into bugs a lot more than in previous releases.

Another quirk reported by 9to5Mac regarding this feature is that iOS 14 doesn't actually respect email app preference if you keep Safari as your default browser. Any mailto: link in Safari will reportedly still open in Apple Mail, regardless of the user's setting. This might yet be another bug but it does cast Apple in a negative light in the middle of an antitrust investigation over its alleged app monopoly on its platforms.