iOS and macOS 26: Which functions Apple is blocking in the EU for the time being

Apple users in the European Economic Area (EEA) must be prepared to receive certain functions later or not at all. Lawyers from the company warned of this at an EU Commission event in Brussels on Monday. The interoperability requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) could lead to new data protection and security risks, Apple emphasized once again.

"We have already had to make the decision to delay the launch of products and features announced this month for our customers in the EU," explained Apple lawyer Kyle Andeer at the second DMA enforcement workshop. However, the company is looking for ways to bring them to the EEA market after all.

Three functions are missing in the EEA

Specifically, this apparently concerns three functions in the iOS 26 and macOS 26 operating systems, which were shown on a presentation slide. These include the innovations announced for Apple Maps: In future, the map service will automatically present a list of places the user has visited (with their iPhone). And the map app will learn preferred commuting routes and then independently warn of traffic jams and suggest alternatives.

Both functions are not available in the beta version of iOS 26 if an EEA account is used. Apple has already announced regional restrictions for the locations visited: the function will initially only be available in North America, Australia, Malaysia, the UK and Switzerland.

In addition, the announced integration of iPhone Live activities, which can automatically appear in the Mac menu bar of macOS 26, is probably missing in the EEA. This is obviously linked to iPhone mirroring, which was introduced in 2024 and which Apple has not yet activated for EEA users either. Here, too, the company referred to European competition law at the time of introduction. The remote maintenance function from iOS 18, which allows iPhones and iPads to be controlled remotely via FaceTime, remains blocked in the EEA. This is useful for providing technical support to family members, for example.

New functions with greetings from Brussels

Brussels has already specified in detail which functions and interfaces Apple must open up to other providers in its operating systems. Accordingly, the Digital Markets Act also provides for new functions in iOS 26, including support for the Wi-Fi Aware standard and a way to transfer eSIMs from iPhone to Android for the first time. In general, switching between the two major mobile platforms should be much easier and more convenient for users in future. According to Apple, it is working together with Google to achieve this.

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