Apple ordered by EU regulators to open up to rivals.
Apple ordered by EU regulators to open up to rivals.
- (JS Required) Press Release.
Apple was ordered by EU antitrust regulators today to open up its closed ecosystem to rivals, with the latter spelling out details on how to go about it in line with the bloc's landmark rules and where non-compliance could lead to an investigation and fines.
"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," added Apple.
LOL. Europeans wanted this. Rivals just means third party apps. So people can actually do with their device what the hell they want to.
I rarely find myself defending giant corporations but after having looked at the list it seems I am going to have to.
Some of the things do make sense, like allowing other smartwatches the same notification access as Apple Watches. But others like the audio switching seem to lack a fundamental understanding of how that even works.
I keep trying to figure out though what exactly Apple has a monopoly in… they don’t have the largest segment of any market they are in so it makes it seem like the EU is complaining that they have a monopoly on iPhones… which… yes… but that is like saying Nintendo has a monopoly on the Switch.
Edit: I seem to have failed to express the nuance I wanted to. None the less there seem to be some issues with the demands here and I think it will be interesting to see how this pans out.
They have a trust. As in the term “antitrust”. They control a significant part of multiple inter-dependent markets and have unethically used that control to block competition and harm the free market.
the EU is complaining that they have a monopoly on iPhones
Essentially yeah.
The competitor, Android, allows for open communication between different devices made by different manufacturers. So you've got one manufacturer, who despite other problems, is fully open, and then you've got a closed off manufacturer who hoard everything for themselves.
The EU just wants to enforce an open market where everything is intercompatible. It's along the same lines as forcing Apple to move over to USBC, it's about standardizing something that should already be standardized, but isn't because corporate interests got involved. Apple were given a decade worth of warning on this, and they did nothing to improve matters.
As someone who has recently moved away from an iPhone, while still having much of the rest of the Apple ecosystem in place: for me it's things like AirPlay and AirDrop. There are alternatives to AirDrop, but as I have an Apple TV, it would super handy to be able to AirPlay to it from my Pixel. As it stands, there appears to be literally no way to achieve this.
And to be clear it's all just Bluetooth with the airdrop protocol stuck on top, there's absolutely no reason that Apple couldn't have made this work with any device, they made the deliberate decision to restrict it to only their products. Same thing with iMessage, they absolutely can get it to work on Android they just don't.
Connected devices
The first set of measures concerns nine iOS connectivity features, predominantly used for connected devices such as smartwatches, headphones or TVs. The measures will grant device manufacturers and app developers improved access to iPhone features that interact with such devices (e.g. displaying notifications on smartwatches), faster data transfers (e.g. peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connections, and near-field communication) and easier device set-up (e.g. pairing).
As a result, connected devices of all brands will work better on iPhones. Device manufacturers will have new opportunities to bring innovative products to the market, improving the user experience for consumers based in Europe.
The measures ensure that this innovation takes place in full respect of users’ privacy and security as well as the integrity of Apple’s operating systems.
Effective process for interoperability requests
The second set of measures improves the transparency and effectiveness of the process that Apple devised for developers interested in obtaining interoperability with iPhone and iPad features. It includes improved access to technical documentation on features not yet available to third parties, timely communication and updates, and a more predictable timeline for the review of interoperability requests.
Developers will benefit from a fast and fair handling of their interoperability requests. The measures will accelerate their ability to offer a wider choice to European consumers of innovative services and hardware that interoperate with iPhones and iPads.
Can someone explain to me, a person that did not have any Apple device ever, what do they mean by:
easier device set-up (e.g. pairing).
So you could not pair non-apple device with your Apple device? And seriously no smartwatch could work with iPhone other than Apple Watch?
Apple, laying on a couch, head propped up with a seasonally colorful pillow from IKEA: “They just don’t understand the immense pressure I’m under…”
I hope Spotify will we able to bring back volume control of connected devices.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/29/24231516/spotify-apple-physical-iphone-volume-controls
Nobody who gives a damn about artists being paid fairly and not swindled out of their already miniscule pay should use spotify.
I don’t entirely buy this argument.
In my experience, Spotify has made music accessible enough that I listen to thousands of hours per year, far more than anyone else I know. Vs before Spotify I couldn’t be bothered. Even assuming Spotify pays artists less than other mediums, there’s a point where the much higher listening rate is the better choice.
I’m not especially hard core of a music listener so my attempts at other services were disappointing enough that I probably wouldn’t bother.
Poorly written article but it does end with a correction that “Spotify has not opted in to using the required APIs”.
While I have no way of knowing who to blame here, I see Spotify trying to blame Apple rather than talk about the api claim. If they have an objection to that api, let’s meet there, a little closer to reality
I believe that only apply to the HomePod
Although some third-party music services can stream directly from Apple’s HomePod, many major streamers, including Spotify, never adopted the necessary API. Instead, users have to use AirPlay to play songs from Spotify — though, a workaround in iOS 17 made this process a little easier by allowing users to ask Siri to start an AirPlay session.
Cool…cool… but what about game consoles?
This tired whataboutism... Really? Just stop.
It's the same answer as always, the iPhone/iPad was marketed and sold as a "do all" device ("IPhone, there's an app for that" and the iPads "What's a PC?"). Game consoles are sold as a limited functionality device. These aren't the same at all.
I don't think Apple makes any game consoles.
Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee
forcing us to give away our new features for free to companies who don't have to play by the same rules,
You mean the features you rip off from Samsung and Google each year?
I wish they ripped them off Samsung and Google each year but in reality they seem to wait about a decade before they rip them off.
Widgets are still so new for iOS that they still go on about them in their advertising.