I’m catching up with the news and saw this blurb at the top of a Liliputing news round-up.
The European Union is telling Apple that, in order to comply with the Digital Markets Act, the company needs to allow competing device makers and app developers to access core iPhone and iPad technologies including peer-to-peer WiFi connection, NFC, proximity-triggered device pairing, AirDrop, AirPlay, and media casting.
Apple isn’t particularly happy about any of that, but European regulators say that it’s an antitrust measure meant to level the playing field for competitors. We’ll see what Apple’s eventual compliance looks like – the company has a track record of responding to EU regulations with tactics like scare screens telling users why they shouldn’t take advantage of new features like support for third-party app stores. And even if Apple does comply with all of the new requirements, it’s unclear if any of them will be available to users outside of the European Union.