June 4, 2025, 11:39 am | Read time: 3 minutes
In March, the EU Commission identified nine core technologies that Apple must open to third-party providers. This is based on the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which sets specific interoperability requirements for so-called gatekeepers (known as “Torwächter” in German). Will the company respond by withdrawing features from Europe?
The EU Commission has identified Apple as a gatekeeper that, due to its sheer size, can control the market and hinder competition. For this reason, the company had to allow the use of alternative app stores and the free choice of browsers in Europe. However, Apple is now appealing the commission’s decision that it must open nine of its core technologies to third parties. The reasoning: Customers in Europe should be protected from a worse user experience.
European Customers Face “Worse User Experience”
As reported by “Reuters,” Apple has filed an appeal against the EU order. In a statement obtained by “9To5Mac,” the company writes:
“These deeply flawed regulations, which target only Apple—and no other company—will severely limit our ability to deliver innovative products and features to Europe and lead to a worse user experience for our European customers. We are appealing these decisions on their behalf to maintain the high quality our European customers expect.”
As early as March, I warned that the EU’s requirements for Apple go too far. In response to a TECHBOOK inquiry, the company had already indicated that these decisions would have negative consequences for European users. They “make the introduction of new products and technologies in Europe significantly more difficult.”
Could Apple Withdraw AirDrop from Europe?
It’s not new that Apple sometimes implements innovations outside the U.S. with delays. However, in recent months, the trend has been that it takes even longer. Notable examples from the recent past include Apple’s AI suite Intelligence, which only arrived in Germany with iOS 18.4 in April, and iPhone Mirroring, which is still unavailable nearly a year after its announcement.
Renowned Apple blogger John Gruber has now spoken out on his “Daring Fireball” blog, painting a grim picture for the future of the iPhone in Europe:
“If AirDrop were brand new, EU users wouldn’t get it either, I suspect. And if this mandate holds, EU users could lose AirDrop.”
AirDrop is one of the nine connectivity features that Apple must open to third parties according to EU requirements. The commission demands that the company provide the underlying technology so that other providers can use it for their own data transfer alternatives.
Currently, there are no signs that Apple might actually withdraw existing technologies from Europe. However, the vaguely worded press statement suggests that the company might not be able to “maintain the high quality” if the EU Commission prevails. Whether this means that existing features could also disappear from the iPhone remains open.
Editor on New EU requirements for Apple: “This Goes Too Far!”
New Rules for the App Store Put Apple Under Pressure
Competition for Siri? Apple May Allow More Voice Assistants in the EU
Apple Is Particularly Affected by DMA Requirements
In fact, the iPhone manufacturer is currently the only company forced by the EU to open its core technologies to third parties. These are technologies that are Apple’s intellectual property (IP). Some of them—like AirDrop, AirPlay, screen mirroring, and automatic audio handoff—are industry-leading.
The company also warns that third parties could potentially have access to more data than Apple itself by opening the systems. For example, notifications in iOS are displayed on-device—the text is encrypted and does not leave the device. If third parties are to gain access, the text must run unencrypted through another company’s servers.