Apple’s ongoing battles with regulators shows no sign of abating. A media release, issued by the European Commission, has put the regulatory blowtorch on Apple and its ‘interoperability obligation’ under the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
The EU is pushing Apple to open up connectivity on its products to a wider range of devices. For example, if the the EU gets its way, you’ll be able to seamlessly pair an Apple Watch to an Android device and see your notifications and, presumably, see data sync between devices across the two ecosystems where there’s a cross-platform app.
Unsurprisingly, Apple has responded saying, “Today’s decisions wrap us in red tape, slowing down Apple’s ability to innovate for users in Europe and forcing us to give away our new features for free to companies who don’t have to play by the same rules.”
With Apple already under fire in the UK over its end-to-end encryption, could we see Apple take the nuclear option and offer a substantially scaled back version of iOS, watchOS and other platforms? Comments made by Teresa Ribera, the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition are quite pointed.
“Effective interoperability for third-party connected devices is an important step towards opening Apple’s ecosystem.”
Apple has often faced criticism of its so-called “walled garden”. And, over the years, the tight connection between different devices and high degree of interoperability has been a boon for most users. For example, the ability to cut/copy and paste between devices, AirDrop, Sidecar and other features make the use of multiple devices seamless.
Whether Apple can or wants to offer the same level of interoperability to other platforms, which is what the European Commission seems to be striving for, while maintaining security and reliability remains to be seen.
While Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy says, “The EU puts innovation and choice at the centre of its policies. Interoperability is one of the most important tools in making this happen.” This fails to recognise that Apple’s interoperability within its platforms is a major innovation.
In response, Apple says, “It’s bad for our products and for our European users. We will continue to work with the European Commission to help them understand our concerns on behalf of our users.”
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.