The EU wants Apple to open AirDrop and AirPlay to Android and other platforms

EU regulation has led to Apple being forced to open up iOS in ways that many never expected, but it’s not done just yet. In an effort to ensure “effective interoperability” with other platforms, the EU wants Apple to make native features of iOS being compatible with Android, including the likes of AirDrop and more.

A new document released by the European Commission this week reveals a number of ways the EU wants Apple to change iOS and its features to be more interoperable with other platforms.

There are some changes to iOS itself, such as opening up notifications to work on third-party smartwatches as they do with the Apple Watch. Similarly, the EU wants Apple to let iOS apps work in the background as Apple’s first-party apps do, as this is a struggle of some apps, especially companion apps for accessories such as smartwatches (other than the Apple Watch, of course).

But there are also some iOS features that the EU directly wants Apple to open up to other platforms, including Android.

This starts with AirDrop, which currently only works between iOS and macOS devices. The EU explains:

Apple shall provide a protocol specification that gives third parties all information required to integrate, access, and control the AirDrop protocol within an application or service (including as part of the operating system) running on a third-party connected physical device in order to allow these applications and services to send files to, and receive files from, an iOS device.

The EU also wants Apple to open up AirPlay to other platforms, something the company has technically already done. AirPlay is supported on some TVs and products from other brands, but the ability to actually connect to something over AirPlay is currently restricted solely to iOS. Google’s Cast tech, by contrast, works on Android, iOS, and other platforms. The EU wants Apple to “make available the possibility for a third-party connected physical device to become an AirPlay sender.”

As our sister site 9to5Mac points out, Apple has responded to this EU document, prominently criticizing the EU for putting out a mandate that “could expose your private information.” Apple’s document primarily focuses in on Meta, which the company says has made “more interoperability requests” than anyone else. Apple says that opening AirPlay to Meta would “[create] a new class of privacy and security issues, while giving them data about users homes.”

The EU is taking consultation on this case until January 9, 2025, and if Apple doesn’t comply when the order is eventually put into effect, it could result in heavy fines.

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