The European Commission has issued two decisions under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that require Apple to comply with certain requirements regarding interoperability with third-party devices. In particular, the company must allow developers access to iOS notifications and the ability to create AirDrop counterparts.
All future iOS devices must have full access to the notification system, background execution rights, and access to system functions. All of these features are currently exclusive to Apple products such as AirPods and Apple Watch. As a result of the European Commission's decision, third-party manufacturers will also have access to these features.
Features like automatic connection when near and automatic volume switching are essential for wireless headphone manufacturers. However, third-party manufacturers must be able to use features like AirDrop and AirPlay. The commission's requirements also include automatically sharing Wi-Fi network information, enabling NFC for payment card data, and providing high-speed peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connectivity.
According to the European Commission, all of the features listed must be free for each connected device. The EU also requires that frameworks and APIs be available to third-party companies at the same time they are launched on Apple devices – they cannot be implemented later.
These features will likely become fully available to third-party developers in 2026 with the release of iOS 19, although a beta version will appear as early as late 2025. However, it is worth noting that these requirements currently only apply to European Union countries.
In a comment to 9to5Mac, Apple complained that the European Commission's decision would slow down the company's innovation for users in Europe.
"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. 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," the company said.
However, the Cupertino company is once again pointing out potential risks to user privacy. Apple is concerned that opening up access to the iOS notification system would allow the company to transmit all user notifications in unencrypted form to its servers, bypassing all protections.