Apple Gets EU Warning to Open iOS to Third-Party Connected Devices

[Someyoungguy]

The EU is not Apples 2nd largest market.

You might be confused because Apple breaks down its sales into 5 geographic regions

- Americas
- Europe
- Greater China
- Japan
- Rest of Asia and Oceania

The “Europe” reporting region includes ALL of Europe, not just the EU countries plus ALL of Africa, the Middle East, and all of India.

The EU countries are nowhere NEAR Apples second largest market.

Apple themself have stated that the EU represents only 7% of Apples global revenue. And that’s for ALL Apple products and services not just iPhones.

Meanwhile the EU wants to fine Apple 10% of its entire GLOBAL revenue.

So even if iPhones accounted for 100% of Apples EU revenue they would be fools to keep selling iPhones in Europe because they would be LOSING money by doing so.

"The United States and the European Union are the two largest economies globally in nominal terms. As of 2024, both together share 43.6% and 29.67% of the entire global GDP in nominal and PPP terms, respectively."

If the EU only represents 7% of Apple's revenue, that means Apple hasn't effectively tapped it yet. It would be foolish to pull out of such a large source of future revenue (1/3 of the world's GDP!).

 

[Ramchi]

If Apple just sells the device alone and allowing users to choose their own OS and Services, there may not be any big issue. Since they own & control the entire device, OS, Services, Support, Security, Development Tools etc…chances are less that with the Trillion Dollars company can get away with anti competitive measures. Eventually, EU will force Apple to sell just mobile and forget about controlling the device. Buyers also have the right to use it the way they want to use it after spending quite a bit of money on this essential device since our lives are invariably tied to the mobile phones. If Apple is just another small niche company it will be a different story. They are big and all over the globe hence regulations going to hit them hard.

 

[9081094]

Are you dense? Do your research.

If you want an OS that opens up to everyone buy Android.

I care about my privacy and device security, so I buy iPhones.

I don’t understand all the fuzz about the EU. All the EU is asking is to open up API’s so other brands aren’t ruled out to offer the same possibilities.

It’s like buying a car where the manufacturer dictates you can only buy tires from the same manufacturer.

Other brands want to sell for that car too but are crippled by the manufacturer of the car to do so. That’s unfair competition and Microsoft used those practices too in the past. Microsoft was forced to open up their API’s as well. This time it’s Apple to face the same.

Actually it’s good for the consumer. Because this is forcing Apple to really compete. Headphones, watches, all things that can connect are being threaded as equal. You want your AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad or HomePod? Nothing changes. The only change is that competitors are also able to offer a good experience when connecting.

Will Apple lose out? Depends if their products are inferior to what else is on the market. It also gives Apple a reason to compete and you as customer will benefit.

Nothing to do with privacy or making iOS open source. Just fair competition!

I don’t understand all the negativity about this. Because in the end customers will win.

Unless you’re Apple or investor, there is no need to panic.

 

[Timo_Existencia]

If the EU only represents 7% of Apple's revenue, that means Apple hasn't effectively tapped it yet. It would be foolish to pull out of such a large source of future revenue (1/3 of the world's GDP!).

It's because Apple is competing in a market that is overwhelmingly dominated by Android. Apple only has about 25% market share.

Trying to hobble Apple or punish them for being a distant 2nd in the market is silly.

 

[Someyoungguy]

1. No we won’t. Batteries aren’t going to be able to be popped out and in by the user on a daily basis.
2. We HAD phones that allowed exactly that. When given the option people overwhelmingly preferred the durability of non-removable battery phones.

Citation Needed

Only a tiny tiny majority of consumers want this. Forcing it on the rest of us who prefer the tradeoff of durability, waterproof, etc. is asinine.
3. USB-C isn’t an improvement for most of us. It’s bigger, less secure, less durable, less waterproof, and inconsistent in what it actually supports.

Citation Needed

 

[Timo_Existencia]

If Apple just sells the device alone and allowing users to choose their own OS and Services, there may not be any big issue. Since they own & control the entire device, OS, Services, Support, Security, Development Tools etc…chances are less that with the Trillion Dollars company can get away with anti competitive measures.

You can't be "anticompetitive" when you only have 25% of the market.

 

[irq987]

Nothing Apple does seems to satisfy the EU. Claims that the EU is just protecting the consumer are questionable. After all, they brought us the GDPR and its incessant prompts to make decisions about web cookies. Yeah, thanks for that.

 

[WeLikeVodka]

And you are blaming Apple for the $*tty behavior of idiots? I say idiots because there are much more expensive phones than iPhone from Samsung and Huawei. And thanks to carriers competing for customers, you can even get free iPhones.

If you want to blame Apple, which does nothing to present itself as a snobbish brand only for the wealthy, then maybe you should sic the EU on LVMH. (Of course that won't happen since LVMH is in the EU.)



Apple is not an oligopoly. A single company cannot be an oligopoly. Maybe you should look up the definition. Then notice that there are many companies competing in the smartphone market from all over the world. Also notice that it is still an evolving market with new entrants.



Apple is a minor player in the EU cell-phone market. Weakening it will only serve to strengthen the Google-Android hegemony.

Yeah but apple has a much higher barrier of entry. Samsung and Huawei phones start from $100. And the average person will only know it's a Samsung.

I said apple is part of an oligopoly only, it's the companies that are marked as gatekeepers to be more specific.

It's funny how you call apple a minor player when it's incredibly popular among young people (literally like 1 in 2 has an iPhone lol) and bring up new entrants. If you refer to the likes of Nothing and Realme they don't have contracts with carriers the way the big dogs have. Where I live there's not a single carrier that offers them. Realme also isn't backed by tech influencers, though Nothing is.

 

[coasterghost]

Maybe on this forum but I assure you plenty of US citizens absolutely take the side of the EU in these cases.

Hi, US Citizen here, who know knows a fair bit about electronics. Let me chime in. I use an iPhone for my personal device because of the features. I was an early adopter of Android using the HTC Dream and then the Google Nexus 4 until the Samsung Galaxy S10e in addition to multiple kickaround Android phones. I also had an iPod Touch 4-6 gen and iPhone 6s, 8 and now 15 Pro Max. When I went to the iPhone 6s, I abandoned Android for my personal usage and use it mainly for business. I grew very tired of the device fragmentation, the fact that it was more prone to get viruses and that general support was a laughing stock. I grew disillusioned with Android.

I came to Apple knowing that the phone I am buying will get more than 2-4 years of software updates, and the sheer fact that Apple has a better ecosystem. I remember telling others when iMessage rolled out that if Apple were to open it via official apps on Android for instance that they would kill texting in the general regard. Android doesn't have anything for example that could rival iMessage, and most of the devices these days don't really offer anything to me that could be beneficial outside of video recording in certain conditions. I honestly find the EU to be completely over reaching in the DMA and the are on a very slippery slope. I would rather side with Apple.

Fun fact: the iPhones I've owned have gotten security updates this year compared to my current android which last got a security update 3 years ago.

Lastly, I can't wait to see how the EU DMA is going to go after this. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/202...k-sideloading-and-push-a-google-play-version/

 

[Someyoungguy]

It's targeting harassments. There are at least 5 other companies on this planet that have a worse walled garden then Apple. [Sony, Google, Amazon, Meta]. I don't see the EU going after Sony, or Meta.

When it comes to smartphones, the EU doesn't like that no one other then Apple can make iOS, make iPhones. They want Samsung, OnePlus, Huawei to manufacture iPhones and have their own iOS software.

Apple gave them side-load = Not happy
Apple gave them USB-C = Not happy
Apple gave them RCS = Not happy

EU demands more = Apple says "". It's time Apple reminded the world who the real boss is.

Apple is a trillion dollar company because they deserved it. The EARNED the right. The entire tech existence is because of Apple and MSFT. Without them, none of this would exist.

"It's time Apple reminded the world who the real boss is." - this says it all. Apple is a tech company, not a religion, or society, or your dad.

Also, I seem to remember a few other computer companies that contributed to "the entire tech existence".

 

[ProbablyDylan]

I don't see an issue with this. It's not right that Apple devices do not play nicely with other brand's smart watches. Imagine if Macs only worked with Apple keyboards, mice, and monitors.

 

[I7guy]

I don't see an issue with this. It's not right that Apple devices do not play nicely with other brand's smart watches. Imagine if Macs only worked with Apple keyboards, mice, and monitors.

False equivalency. Macs are different overall than iPhones.

 

[LowKeyed]

"The United States and the European Union are the two largest economies globally in nominal terms. As of 2024, both together share 43.6% and 29.67% of the entire global GDP in nominal and PPP terms, respectively."

If the EU only represents 7% of Apple's revenue, that means Apple hasn't effectively tapped it yet. It would be foolish to pull out of such a large source of future revenue (1/3 of the world's GDP!).

That might only be true if Apple hasn't put enough marketing resources in the EU. What might be as likely, is that the product Apple makes doesn't align with the dominant user preference of the EU. Meaning, Apple doesn't really make a product that a significant portion of EU citizens want. In which case, Apple could make a different product that more closely aligns with EU preferences or they could alter an existing product to better align (which feels like the goal of some of the EU regulations, except as some people have already pointed out, the DMA is not about consumer choice or competition and more about market management). What they might find from an alteration is that they loose some profit potential in the US market, where they clearly align with user preference to at least some significant level. So, the business reality may be, they can claim a larger portion of revenue from the EU if they are willing to sacrifice some portion of there US and possibly other regions revenue.

But, this is really all just academic as we are not really privy to information that would inform these decisions.

 

[coasterghost]

Imagine if Macs only worked with Apple keyboards, mice, and monitors.

Imagine if MacOS runs natively on my AMD Ryzen and I don't have to use exclusively Apple Silicon.

 

[Karma*Police]

EU please build OS for your people for EU, do your job and stop demanding others
Its easier to ask than to build ah?! Politicians that has no tech knowledge

Seriously, bureaucrats with nothing better to do. At what point will they demand everything be open source? Apple’s entire business model is predicated on providing a curated environment and consumers CHOSE their walled garden approach.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

Its time for Apple to abandon the Dictatorship of the EU

It's time for the EU to abandon their Dictatorship ways

 

[I7guy]

Yeah but apple has a much higher barrier of entry. Samsung and Huawei phones start from $100. And the average person will only know it's a Samsung.

I said apple is part of an oligopoly only, it's the companies that are marked as gatekeepers to be more specific.

It's funny how you call apple a minor player when it's incredibly popular among young people (literally like 1 in 2 has an iPhone lol) and bring up new entrants. If you refer to the likes of Nothing and Realme they don't have contracts with carriers the way the big dogs have. Where I live there's not a single carrier that offers them. Realme also isn't backed by tech influencers, though Nothing is.

Apple has a 27% share (thereabouts) in the EU. It may be incredibly popular but the numbers dont lie. Also some android phones can be had for $0.

 

[bellnen]

"The United States and the European Union are the two largest economies globally in nominal terms. As of 2024, both together share 43.6% and 29.67% of the entire global GDP in nominal and PPP terms, respectively."

If the EU only represents 7% of Apple's revenue, that means Apple hasn't effectively tapped it yet. It would be foolish to pull out of such a large source of future revenue (1/3 of the world's GDP!).

Oh no, Logic. AAAAHHHHHHHHHH

 

[I7guy]

I don’t understand all the fuzz about the EU. All the EU is asking is to open up API’s so other brands aren’t ruled out to offer the same possibilities.

It’s like buying a car where the manufacturer dictates you can only buy tires from the same manufacturer.

Other brands want to sell for that car too but are crippled by the manufacturer of the car to do so. That’s unfair competition and Microsoft used those practices too in the past. Microsoft was forced to open up their API’s as well. This time it’s Apple to face the same.

Actually it’s good for the consumer. Because this is forcing Apple to really compete. Headphones, watches, all things that can connect are being threaded as equal. You want your AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad or HomePod? Nothing changes. The only change is that competitors are also able to offer a good experience when connecting.

Will Apple lose out? Depends if their products are inferior to what else is on the market. It also gives Apple a reason to compete and you as customer will benefit.

Nothing to do with privacy or making iOS open source. Just fair competition!

I don’t understand all the negativity about this. Because in the end customers will win.

Unless you’re Apple or investor, there is no need to panic.

I’ll bet you wouldn’t like it if there were some regulations forcing you to open up your home and take in borders against your will.

Since such a hypothetical regulation is a net positive for society it must be good.

 

[GMShadow]

A functioning US government would inform the EU that continued behavior in this fashion is going to result in a trade war they will lose. A few phone calls and some offers and every US flag carrier cancels all their existing Airbus orders. Alstom sees immediate 100% tariffs on their products, as does VAG, Daimler-Benz, and the government calls in the note on Stellantis for un-repaid government aid.

 

[coasterghost]

A few phone calls and some offers and every US flag carrier cancels all their existing Airbus orders.

Bad example given the current state of Boeing.

 

[delsoul]

Imagine if the EU dealt with their current issues in their ‘respective’ union as much as they moan about Apple…Apple really should pull out of the EU and let them suffer with other shoddy phone manufacturers and OS. If the EU thinks they have it bad now, they’ll know bad when Apple is out of their market. I honestly think the EU is going broke from spending other people’s money and they need to go after any money source they can. Every government body around the world does it, the EU is no different. 👍

 

[ProbablyDylan]

I’ll bet you wouldn’t like it if there were some regulations forcing you to open up your home and take in borders against your will.

No, but I'm grateful there's regulations mandating my home has the same kind of electrical socket as my neighbors. Means I can buy a fan from Target and plug it into my Walmart power strip. In what world is interoperability a bad thing?

 

[9081094]

False equivalency. Macs are different overall than iPhones.

In what way are they different? It’s a computing device with Bluetooth, WiFi, G5 to connect to the world. It uses the same underlying technology of macOS, iPadOS, watchOS.

Please explain why it’s different?

 

[makr]

It is 100% true. Feel free to check out Apple's earnings reports.

You don't know what you are talking about. Europe account includes non EU countries (UK, Russia, Turkey, Switzerland, Norway, and Ukraine) and Middle East.