With the Digital Markets Act take over in 2022 , the European Union has discover Apple ’s iOS ( as well as other companies ’ products ) as “ door guard ” that have such a stranglehold on the market that they should be required to abide by with certain rules about interoperability and openness to competing software and religious service .
user in Europe have already seen some issue of this . compare to iPhones in the rest of the world , Io in Europe offer up unequaled capacity : EU users can sideload apps and use alternative app stores , get at different payment processors with Apple Pay , function apps Apple does n’t allow elsewhere such as BitTorrent clients and clipboard manager , and can fix nonremittal app for a motley of common telephone set task .
Apple has always insist that these change will compromise their user ’s privacy and security , harm the user experience , and hinder Apple ’s power to make corking ware . So far , the changes do n’t appear to have had such a deleterious effect , but the EU says Apple is not to the full in compliance with the Digital Markets Act andordered Apple to make unexampled specific changesto comply with its interoperability directives .
The new EU rules may force Apple to open up Bluetooth and NFC features to third-party developers.
There are two new directive ( case DMA.100203 and DMA.100204 ) . One specifies ways in which Apple must produce better interoperability with third - company apps , religious service , and equipment . The other contingent how Apple must communicate and administer its interoperability functions to developers .
The new EU regulation may force Apple to open up up Bluetooth and NFC lineament to third - party developer .
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The new EU rules may force Apple to open up Bluetooth and NFC features to third-party developers.
Here is how the European Commission has described the feature changes Apple must make to raise interoperability :
In other words , third - political party earphone have to be capable to provide the same soft law of proximity - pairing and machinelike audio frequency switching as AirPods do . Non - Apple devices have to be capable to show and react to notifications the agency Apple ware do ( this is a big one for third - party vigil , such as thenew Pebble ) . Developers have to be allowed to develop and publish alternatives to AirDrop and AirPlay that are n’t hamstrung liken to Apple ’s solution . And Apple has to fully open up its NFC implementation .
The EU further specifies that Apple has to enable interoperability features through arrant , free , and well - document APIs , that they have to be evenly efficient as the solution Apple uses ( no more “ Apple can use function nobody else can ” material ) , and Apple has to make new functionality within these interoperability family useable to third parties at the same time they are useable to Apple .
If you ’re aroused about the prospect of third - political party hardware that works well with your iPhone , you should know that these lineament are only required on iPhones sold within the European Union . Already , iOS has admission and openness within the EU that it does n’t in other placement . Apple may make some of these changes globally , but thus far its DMA abidance measuring have been exclusive to iOS user within the EU .
Apple’s response
Naturally , Apple is n’t felicitous about this . Whenever a court or government assure Apple what it has to do , the company pushes back hard , claiming that obligingness will cause irreparable harm to users . In a statement to several media sites , Apple say :
“ Today ’s decisiveness roll us in red tape , slowing down Apple ’s ability to innovate for users in Europe and forcing us to give away our new feature of speech for barren to companies who do n’t have to dally by the same rules . It ’s bad for our production and for our European exploiter . We will extend to work with the European Commission to help them understand our concerns on behalf of our user . “
