The European Commission wants Apple to open up various technological integrations to other companies. This should ensure that headphones or smartwatches not produced by Apple work as well as the company’s own devices.
Anyone who owns an iPhone or iPad today and uses it in combination with AirPods or an Apple Watch can expect seamless integration. Think about the notifications on your watch about your phone. iPhone and iPad users can also easily share files via AirDrop, a technology developed by Apple but also reserved for its own users.
According to Europe, this contravenes the Digital Markets Act. The company has a large number of users in Europe and a solid share in the smartphone market, which also requires it to open its walled technological garden to others.
At the beginning of September, after a warning, it became clear that Apple had to prepare for more openness, but the European Commission is now clearly revealing what needs to change. It has finalized a number of proposals, to which the market can now respond formally.
Concretely, these are notifications between iOS and associated devices, processes that can be carried out in the background, automatic switching of audio sources via Bluetooth, peer-to-peer wifi connections, AirPlay, AirDrop, NFC functionality, media casting, proximity-based device pairing and automatic wifi connections.
The Commission is now awaiting reactions from the sector before making its final recommendations. The intention is for them to be released within the next six months.
Tech
