EU deadline approaching: How iPhones must become more compatible
Apple is pushing back against the EU's interoperability requirements. There is little time left for initial concrete implementation steps in iOS 26. An overview.
(Image: Sebastian Trepesch / heise medien)
By the end of the year, Apple must lay the groundwork for a more compatible iPhone. The manufacturer has just over two months left to implement the EU Commission's initial interoperability requirements in iOS. The operating system, as a "Core Platform Service" of a company classified as a gatekeeper, falls under the stricter competition rules of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Here, regulators are also able to precisely define the steps required.
Specifically, this concerns the opening up of iPhone communication, which has so far been heavily restricted, with devices from other manufacturers such as smartwatches and headphones. The latter are to be able to catch up functionally with Apple's hardware like Apple Watch and AirPods in the future.
What Apple must implement by the end of 2025
By the end of 2025, Apple must therefore ensure better compatibility in several areas, as the EU Commission stipulates in the schedule of its original decision. These include iOS notifications, which have so far been limited to Apple hardware, the provision of Wi-Fi access data, the background capabilities of apps, and more convenient pairing of accessories. In addition, Apple must allow payment information to be transferred via the NFC controller to other hardware within the current year, for example, to enable contactless payment with a smartwatch.
The extensive access to iOS notifications is currently reserved for the Apple Watch. Third-party manufacturers remain excluded here. By the end of 2025, Apple must now deliver a first beta that allows notifications – after user consent – to also land on a smartwatch from another brand and be answerable there.
Manufacturers like Garmin, Pebble & Co. will then be able to integrate such extended functionality into their companion apps. In the future, such apps must also be able to reliably perform their service in the background, for example, to exchange data with the smartwatch. For instance, after an app has been forcibly closed or Bluetooth has been temporarily deactivated in the control center.
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Access to Wi-Fi data and convenient pairing
By the end of the year, third-party devices should also gain access to the Wi-Fi access data stored in iOS, allowing them to log in conveniently themselves – just as the Apple Watch has been doing for a long time.
Apple must also open up the simple pairing process known from AirPods, which involves simply bringing the earbuds close to an iPhone, as a beta for third parties by the end of 2025. Apple has already implemented one of the interoperability requirements, namely the support for Wi-Fi Direct connections via the Wi-Fi Aware standard. Unlike other opening steps that Apple is deliberately limiting to the EU, Wi-Fi Aware is globally available. This is intended to allow cross-platform alternatives to AirDrop. However, Apple still needs to provide deep system integration for such file transfers by mid-2026 and may limit it again to EU member states via a geo-lock.
These innovations would therefore have to be included in iOS 26.1 – currently still in the testing phase – and the upcoming beta of iOS 26.2. Initial traces, for example, of an expansion of the notification function have already been spotted in the system's code, but proper documentation is still pending.
Apple has been railing against the changes for a long time – especially the opening of notifications and the release of Wi-Fi access data. However, the company has not made any progress with this so far: the appeal proceedings before the General Court of the European Union (GCEU) are still ongoing, and the Commission rejected the exemptions also requested by Apple in August. The company then proceeded to challenge the competition law directly, arguing that the DMA must be overturned or at least extensively revised. Apple is also increasingly focusing on delaying the introduction of new iOS features in the EU.
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