iOS 19 and iOS 20 Must Include a Long List of Major Changes, EU Says

[Unggoy Murderer]

Like I said, these would be nothing without the underlying European technology they rely on. Not all technology is headline grabbing or glamorous but those unsung companies are also the "major players" in their respective industries.

What I am saying is, there is no EU "crown jewel" technology company, and that's why they're upset. I appreciate and fully acknowledge that there are important companies behind the scenes in the EU, however none of them are truly glamorous, and that's what is hurting these EU bureaucrats the most.

Also, you'll find that a lot of behind the scenes EU tech companies actually started long before the EU was a thing. The only large company I can think of that would be a global player, and started during the EU would be Spotify. But they, like the EU themselves, just whinge and whine about everyone else being too successful and demand competition adapt to them instead.

If you compared some major conglomerates like Siemens or Bosch to General Electric, they would be well on par with each other competitively. Do you see the EU whining about General Electric and trying to regulate them? No? Correct, because the EU have major players that can actually participate in the same league, and any restrictions would harm them too.

 

[MacFarmer]

This is getting crazy. Maybe apple should split iOS into two forks. One normal one, and one for EU. And make EU one simple vanilla iOS, like original iPhone iOS, without app store, without all the BS, normal music app without Apple music, etc, etc. I'm form EU, but would love to see it. Imagine the impact it would have! EU would be f**ked. Only option left for them would be Android and chinese phones. And the impact on economy! How many ios apps are being used daily for banking, parking and other stuff. I think that would be a great lesson in competition and government interference.

Yes, yes, yes, Apple would loose a lot of money. But do they really need it? Shareholders would be upset. But should they care? Stock is still overvalued. I think they had so much profit for so many years that they can relax a little bit. Its not like they are going to use it for some amazing think, world changing product or cause. They are just making money for the sake to make money. Enough.

sorry for the rant. I should read less Apple news

 

[vantelimus]

Maybe they should focus on driving universal standards instead of forcing manufacturers to share their proprietary protocols within their own ecosystems.

👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻

This comment cuts through all the BS. Create a standard. Let manufacturers decide whether they want to support it or not.

 

[surferfb]

Apple doesn’t have to sell their products on Eu markets. They can withdraw. But if they want to continue to sell their phones in EU they hve to agree to european rules. it is that simple.

I don’t disagree with anything you wrote, and think it would be a bad idea to pull out of the EU.

That doesn’t mean I can’t criticize a law as immoral, unfair, and written by people who clearly don’t understand the tech they’re regulating or have the ability to think through the consequences of what they’re demanding.

 

[SBlue1]

Funny how all the people who complained about Microsofts monopolies and baked in features locking competition out are now screaming leave Apple alone. LOL!

 

[surferfb]

Funny how all the people who complained about Microsofts monopolies and baked in features locking competition out are now screaming leave Apple alone. LOL!

Microsoft had 90% market share, Apple has 30% in the EU. Very different circumstances. If Apple had an actual monopoly I’d agree actions like this are warranted.

 

[Big_D]

Haha Apple suddenly starts using cat names for iOS.. see Europe we never released iOS 19... just iOS Ocelot which doesn't have any requirements!

It won't make any difference, as they gave dates by which the features need to be made available, not OS version - that was MacRumours putting in expected version numbers.

 

[j26]

I look forward to the prospect of being able to "Airdrop" videos and other large files from my Android phone to my iPad. It would be nice if I could do it directly to my Mac, but even if I have to "Airdrop" twice (phone to iPad, iPad to Mac), I can live with that.

For the consumer, this is a benefit.

 

[Big_D]

Most outrageous demands. If I wanted the features of an iPhone, I buy an iPhone. What's next expect Toyota parts to fit Mercedes? Expect BMW to allow Kia accessories to integrate into its system?

What is outrageous about me being able to use my smartwatch with my iPhone and have it display messages (and cancel/react to them)?

The AirDrop equivalents is maybe a bit moot, although I've never used Airdrop or an equivalent.

What if you have a nice hi-fi that has its own streaming system, why should you be able to automatically stream to it, like you can with Apple speakers?

Looking at these, I don't really see any major problems, it would be positive PR for Apple to comply and a tiny percentage of users, who probably wouldn't have used the Apple equivalents anyway, would ever use them.

 

[nt5672]

The walled garden IS the user experience. The DMA is the leveling of the playing field for the companies who couldn’t compete if their life depended on it. I want things integrated as they are, not some hodge podge of crap third party solutions that the EU (of all the loser political bodies, they are the losierest) bureaucrats foist on me. If I wanted the crap fest race to the bottom that is the Windows and Android markets, I would buy those.

The EU seems determined to reduce tech to the lowest common denominator and yet many of the member states don’t even have functional water and waste treatment facilities across their countries. Perhaps the EU should concentrate on upgrading infrastructure on the Continent and less about what Apple is doing with technology. The mobile wars ended a long time ago and Nokia and Palm and BlackBerry and Windows Mobile all lost to iOS and Android.

Nobody is forcing you to use non-Apple stuff. But some of us see the value in that.

 

[nt5672]

Better explained: Security is more important than the user experience, which currently is not bad at all. It's actually great!
If you want "freedom", get Android devices. And enjoy all the freedom they give you: Free Ads, junk apps, no security, Need to run Antivirus, Firewall and more to get protected, etc.

Actually, if you know what you are doing Android is more secure than Apple will ever be.

 

[jarman92]

Tell me you don’t understand how tariffs work, without saying you don’t understand how tariffs work. Have Trump brainwashed all you Americans? Don’t you learn about macroeconomics in school?

Secondly don’t Americans understand how many consumers there are in EU? We are roughly 100 millions more people in Europe compared to the US or 40% more if you prefer it that way. EU is a huge market and it would hurt Apple considerably to withdraw from the EU.

The EU isn’t actually a huge market for Apple, and the fines contemplated by the DMA dwarf Apple’s yearly profit by a significant margin.

 

[jarman92]

Nobody is forcing you to use non-Apple stuff. But some of us see the value in that.

And nobody is forcing you to use Apple stuff; there are plenty of other options.

 

[applesith]

No wonder tech innovation is dying in the EU - they will regulate themselves to death.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Why bother giving them ANY iPhone? Just pull out of EU market at this rate Jesus. And then slap a 2000% tariff on all goods imported from EU.

That's more along what I would do, but they don't have the balls to do it. The only way you're going to back them off is to let them know you aren't going to deal with their BS. I've said for years that Apple, Google, and Microsoft need to jointly pull out without notice. They'd go into a pure panic and exempt them from all of this because can you imagine trying to do business with no Apple, Google, or Microsoft products? Basically impossible.

 

[MNGR]

So basically forcing Apple to open source their business in the EU. Surprised they are not also requiring a revenue share with the third parties. Apple should pull out of the EU at this point. “Anything that differentiates the iPhone/ecosystem or makes it more desirable must be provided to others at your expense.”

This is EU-Legalized theft of IP.
Why doesn’t it apply to others?

 

[MNGR]

Some of these demands are borderline ridiculous. I mean, I'm all for open source progress, but let's hold these decisions up to the standards of other products. Is the EU going to force all PC and Android software companies to produce Apple compatible versions of all their products? Are they going to force car manufacturers to make all their parts interchangeable and compatible with each other? Are they going to force all refrigerators to offer ice machines?

Of course not. Will only apply to Apple

 

[vantelimus]

Funny how all the people who complained about Microsofts monopolies and baked in features locking competition out are now screaming leave Apple alone. LOL!

I don’t take Apple vs. Microsoft religious wars seriously.

The only problem I had with Microsoft was that their licensing agreements forced computer manufacturers to pay a higher price for Windows licenses unless they bundled the OS with every computer they sold. I was buying a lot of Linux boxes in the mid to late 90s and was forced to pay for Windows licenses for each machine.

BTW, even though, as an OS developer earlier in my career, and that the windows hegemony killed two of the products I worked on, I was never upset about a monopoly.

When I worked at IBM in OS/2 development, I would listen to people complain about Microsoft and Bill Gates and just shake my head. I remember one conversation in which a person was complaining about Gates’ deal on DOS. Gates had insisted on retaining the license to sell DOS on non-IBM computers. IBM thought that would be an insignificant part of the market and so gave him that. But, then clones ate away at IBM’s market. This person insisted that Gates was unscrupulous and that IBM, by rights, should own the market completely. I just looked at the guy and said “Oh, so you mean Gates out IBMed IBM?”. He got red in the face and walked away.

Oh, and I never had a problem with Microsoft making IE a default choice on Windows. Neither did the market, apparently, since Firefox had overtaken IE by the time the EU acted to stop the non-existant Microsoft monopoly.

 

[surferfb]

That's more along what I would do, but they don't have the balls to do it. The only way you're going to back them off is to let them know you aren't going to deal with their BS. I've said for years that Apple, Google, and Microsoft need to jointly pull out without notice. They'd go into a pure panic and exempt them from all of this because can you imagine trying to do business with no Apple, Google, or Microsoft products? Basically impossible.

You know Steve would have given the EU the finger and say "have fun explaining to your citizens why they can't buy iPhones anymore. Give us a call when you change your mind."

To be clear, I don't think that would be the best course for Apple, but it'd certainly be entertaining.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

Actually, if you know what you are doing Android is more secure than Apple will ever be.

And pigs can fly too...

Here's real feedback about your claim:

Comparative analysis of Android and iOS from security viewpoint​

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1574013721000125

If you want to skip to the end, here it is:

This was the first random link I found. Not a surprise. Unfortunately I have to deal with Android devices too, so I fully understand the implications of owning one. Besides that, I don't want to feed my personal data to Google.

 

[ForkHandles]

Ylva Johansson was the minister before. And her background from 1988 to 1991 was for the Left Party – Communists. Which had sometimes above, sometimes below 5% of the Swedish votes. Below 5% blocks a party from having a part in the parliament. So a very fringe party. Dropping below the lower range, she switched to the Social Democrats.
And in the European parliament, Sweden has less than 5% of the ministers.

Jessika Roswall is a much better choice, because she is conservative Moderate Party which is the third largest party.
The second largest Party was blocked the first 4 years (2018-2022), by a coalition by all other parties.

But the point is, we are only allowed to vote for national parties. And for a small state like Sweden <5%, we are a fringe minority. With voters that cannot vote for a proper party/coalition in the European Parliament. Even in EU elections
---

I still believe EU should not dictate what Apple are allowed to do.
If I don't like Apple, nothing is forcing me to stay. I can go back to PCs and choose any other phone brand.
And if european citizens didn't like Apple, we would not purchase their products. Leaving Apple with a choice to either adapt, or ignore us. Simple as that

But none of this points to an un-democratic EU, or a body you didn’t vote for. You get 1/27 of the commissioners despite having on 2% of the population of the EU and a full 2% on the European Parliament.

As for government not regulating businesses….. that what all governments do. Ever since the first monopoly, governments have regulated to ensure that markets are free, open and competitive.

This is absolutely no different.

 

[Big_D]

Some of these demands are borderline ridiculous. I mean, I'm all for open source progress, but let's hold these decisions up to the standards of other products. Is the EU going to force all PC and Android software companies to produce Apple compatible versions of all their products? Are they going to force car manufacturers to make all their parts interchangeable and compatible with each other? Are they going to force all refrigerators to offer ice machines?

No, but if those software companies had big enough customer bases, they could not exclude other companies from working seamlessly with their platform. This is about companies having major market share for a platform and excluding

There are laws for car manufacturers already, you cannot force a customer to go to the original dealership during the warranty period, they can go to any qualified mechanic, regardless of whether they work for the car manufacturer's dealership network, another manufacturer's network or are independent. Likewise they can't stop the owner of the vehicle using pattern parts - although they can refuse warranty claims if they can prove the pattern parts were defective and caused the issue that is being claimed against or the customer carried out the work themselves and are not a trained mechanic.

 

[jfreedle2]

The European Commission today announced a long list of changes that Apple is legally required to implement in future iOS 19 and iOS 20 updates.

The announcement clarifies interoperability requirements that Apple is required to adhere to in the EU, under the Digital Markets Act, which has been fully enforced since March 2024. The changes will further open up the iPhone and its technologies to competing companies and devices, and Apple is really unhappy about it.

We will be publishing an in-depth overview of all of the requirements, but in the meantime we have highlighted some key items below.

• Third-party smartwatches must be able to display and interact with iOS notifications by the end of 2025, which likely means iOS 19.2 or earlier.
• Apple must make its automatic audio switching feature available to third-party headphones by June 1, 2026, which likely means iOS 19.4 or earlier. This is the feature that allows most AirPods and select Beats to automatically switch connection between Apple devices, such as a Mac and an iPhone.
• Apple must make changes to iOS that allow for third parties to offer equivalent AirDrop alternatives by June 1, 2026.
  Apple must make changes to iOS that allow for third parties to offer equivalent AirPlay alternatives by iOS 20, or the end of 2026. iOS 20 is expected to be released to the general public in September 2026.

Apple has until iOS 20 to meet specific aspects of some of the requirements.

The entire list of changes can be found on the European Commission's website.

Apple criticized these requirements as "bad for our products and for our European users."

"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," said Apple, in a statement.

iOS 19 will be announced at WWDC 2025 this June, and iOS 20 will follow a year later.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: iOS 19 and iOS 20 Must Include a Long List of Major Changes, EU Says

So this where we need to issue the EU a cease and desist order. If I were Apple, I would completely ignore the EU's request.

 

[jfreedle2]

Seems like a good set of changes. Would have just been better if Apple made these decisions on their own. But nope, the walled garden is more important than the user experience.

Not really. The third parties could have innovated, but they rather chose not to.

 

[jfreedle2]

But none of this points to an un-democratic EU, or a body you didn’t vote for. You get 1/27 of the commissioners despite having on 2% of the population of the EU and a full 2% on the European Parliament.

As for government not regulating businesses….. that what all governments do. Ever since the first monopoly, governments have regulated to ensure that markets are free, open and competitive.

This is absolutely no different.

The EU does not care at all about markets, they simply want to destroy better products because Android sucks.