The latest iOS 16 beta release allows Apple Pay to work with other browsers, suggesting iOS 16 will remove the need to use Safari.
The relaxation of rules surrounding where Apple Pay can be used was first spotted and tweeted about by Steve Moser, contributing writer at MacRumors. In iOS 15, Apple Pay only works with Safari, but Moser got the payment service to work in Edge and Chrome using iOS 16 developer beta 4. Moser also pointed out the same in not true of the latest macOS beta.
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In response to Moser's tweets, front-end web developer Sebastien LeBlanc pointed out a lack of support for other browsers in iOS was a "weird omission," because they all have to use WebKit just like Safari. He also doesn't believe macOS will ever allow Apply Pay support in other browsers because they use different rendering engines.
There's a chance the wider support for Apple's mobile payment system may be removed before the final version of iOS 16 makes it on to devices, but that seems unlikely considering the scrutiny Apple's business practices are increasingly being subjected to. For example, the European Union called Apple Pay anticompetitive back in May, and it may violate antitrust law.