AirDrop and AirPlay are the latest Apple technologies the European Union wants to make more interoperable. This would give third-party developers, including rival handset makers, access to the tech.
But Apple is pushing back hard. Apple has made the jaw-dropping claim that opening up AirDrop and AirPlay would allow companies like Meta (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) to read all your emails, messages, photos and even passwords!
Apple will reportedly stop selling the iPhone SE (3rd gen) and iPhone 14 in the EU by the end of this year. It will do this to comply with the EU’s directive, which mandates all smartphones to use USB-C for charging.
Apple only switched to USB-C on its smartphone lineup with the iPhone 15’s launch in 2023.
The United Kingdom could precipitate a significant iPhone revamp after a government report found that “Apple’s rules restrict other competitors from being able to deliver new, innovative features that could benefit consumers.”
The findings in the report are sure to inform government regulators as they enforce the U.K.’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, which goes into effect in January 2025.
The UK consumer-advocacy group Which? accused Apple of forcing iPhone and iPad owners to use iCloud, and then overcharging them for the service.
It’s asking for a hefty £3 billion ($3.8 billion) in compensation. That’s about £70 per consumer.
November 13, 2013: Apple and Samsung head back to court to determine how much the Korean company must pay for having copied the iPhone. Cupertino asks Samsung for $379 million in damages for ripping off key iPhone technical and design features.
Apple arrives at that number based on estimated lost profits, royalty rates and the $3.5 billion worth of copyright-infringing devices Samsung sold during the period in question.
A U.S. federal judge ordered sweeping changes to Google Play, the default source for Android applications. Rival Android software marketplaces will get a big boost as a result.
While the iPhone App Store is similar, Apple’s and Google’s situations are different enough that iPhone users shouldn’t expect similar changes anytime soon. Long term? That’s a different story.
The European Commission intends to require iPhone and iPad to be more open to working with third-party smartwatches, headphones, virtual reality headsets, and other accessories. On Thursday, the EC began proceedings to “specify how Apple will provide effective interoperability with functionalities such as notifications, device pairing, and connectivity.”
Apple devices already work with a broad variety of accessories, but the company also says it has to balance connectivity with protecting user privacy. For the latest updates on Apple’s compliance and upcoming changes, check out the latest iPhone news.
Apple ran out of appeals after a Tuesday ruling by the European Union’s highest court that the iPhone-maker must pay 13 billion euros ($14.3 billion) in taxes it’s owed since 2016.
It’s the final result of a scheme in which Apple tried to lower its taxes by routing European revenues through Ireland, where it was charged a lower tax rate.
Apple and the European Commission came to an agreement on opening up iPhone to rival digital wallets and tap-and-go systems. The days of the iPhone’s NFC capabilities being limited to just Apple Pay are at an end. In Europe, anyway.
But in the rest of the world, it’s Apple Pay or nothing.
Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s commissioner for competition, said Thursday that Apple’s decision to not offer its artificial intelligence upgrades for iPhone and Mac in the European Union is an admission that the company knows the features are anticompetitive.
In contrast, Apple says interoperability requirements in EU law would make the AI features a risk to user privacy.
The European Commission said Monday that it made a preliminary decision that Apple breached the EU’s Digital Markets Act. Apple’s rules “prevent [iPhone] app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative channels for offers and content,” according to the EC.
The commission also said it started an investigation into whether Apple’s new Core Technology Fee complies with the DMA. If Apple doesn’t change its policies, the EC could levy extremely heavy fines.
Apple revealed Friday that it will not introduce in the European Union the artificial intelligence features for iPhone, Mac and iPad it recently announced. The company blamed the EU’s Digital Markets Act for the decision.
Several other new features of the upcoming macOS Sequoia, iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 will also not debut in the EU.
The European Commission is reportedly getting ready to charge Apple for not following rules laid down by Digital Markets Act that require the iPhone maker to allow third-party software developers to “steer” consumers to offers outside the App Store, free of charge.
If found guilty, Apple faces potentially heavy fines.
Apple Watch shipments dropped almost 20% year over year in the first quarter of 2024. Market analysts blame some of the decline on Apple being temporarily forced to halt sales of its most recent wearables in a patent dispute over blood oxygen monitoring in units sold in the United States.
AirPods sales also declined in Q1 2024 but for a different reason.
Apple responded to protests about the Core Technology Fee it charges European developers every time one of their applications is installed. It removed the requirement for apps that generate “no revenue whatsoever.”
Currently, the CTF is only charged in the EU, but it has the potential to expand globally so prudent developers should pay attention to any changes no matter where they live.
The iPad joined the European Union’s list of “gatekeeper” platforms Monday. The designation requires Apple to make the same sorts of sweeping changes to iPadOS that the company already made to iPhone, including allowing sideloading of applications.
Apple has six months to implement the modifications.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Now that Apple set a date for WWDC24, it’s time for the speculation to begin. Artificial intelligence undoubtedly will be on the agenda. But what will Apple’s AI push look like?
Join us for a whirlwind discussion.
Also on The CultCast:
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The European Commission opened a noncompliance investigation Monday into whether Apple is fully following the rules that went into effect with the EU’s Digital Markets Act. If not, Apple faces potentially heavy fines.
The Mac-maker isn’t being singled out. The EC also opened similar investigations into Alphabet/Google and Meta/Facebook.
The Department of Justice’s monumental Apple antitrust case appears weak.
Still, the civil lawsuit, filed Thursday, represents the biggest legal challenge to Apple’s power in the company’s 47-year history. If successful, the lawsuit could force Apple to fundamentally change the way it makes products and conducts business. A similar action against Microsoft in the 1990s significantly curtailed that company’s reach and power.
But the DOJ’s lawsuit against Apple appears to be based on old and outdated information, and Apple has already — or is about to — address most of the major concerns.
The Department of Justice and 16 state attorneys general filed an blockbuster antitrust lawsuit Thursday aimed at forcing Apple to open up many aspects of its ecosystem, from the App Store to Apple Watch.
The 88-page civil suit, which accuses Apple of wielding monopoly-like power, could bring truly sweeping changes to iPhone, Mac and other Apple computers.
A U.S. federal judge gave a go-ahead to a class action lawsuit accusing Apple’s AirTag of being “the weapon of choice of stalkers and abusers.”
Apple argues that it designed the product to discourage stalkers.
Epic Games can release Fortnite in the EU and open an App Store rival after Apple restored the company’s developer account. This came as the European Commission was starting an inquiry into why the account had been cancelled.
Apple called Epic Games “untrustworthy” when it pulled the account.
Apple is building a way out of the iOS “walled garden.” It promised on Thursday to make it easier to switch the data from an iPhone to an Android or other handset.
That said, the migration tool is part of Apple complying with the European Union’s Digital Market Act so the solution might not be available outside of the EU.
Epic Games will not be able to bring Fortnite back to the European Union. Apple canceled the company’s developer account (again) and called Epic “verifiably untrustworthy.”
Shutting down the developer account also means that the game-maker won’t be able to open its promised rival to the App Store.
The European Commission fined Apple more than 1.8 billion euros Monday for “abusing its dominant position on the market for the distribution of music streaming apps.”
The ruling follows complaints by music streaming service Spotify. In a lengthy response to the fine, Apple said Spotify pays absolutely nothing for the array of services Cupertino provides. Apple also said it will appeal the EC’s decision.