The EU has recently demanded for Apple to offer better iOS interoperability with third-party apps and products. To no one’s surprise, Apple seems to be borderline offended by the request. In response, Apple published a paper criticizing the decision and took shots at Meta at the same time.
Apple’s reluctance to open up
It’s all about the money. It’s no secret that Apple wants customers to buy as many of its products as possible. This is why the company has worked to ensure that all of its products have interoperability. Think of features like Handoff, cross-device syncing of messages and browser history, as well as how wireless devices like the Apple Watch and AirPods pair so quickly and seamlessly with the rest of the company’s products.
Maintaining its walled garden approach allows Apple to keep customers locked into its ecosystem. It also makes it harder if customers decide to stray. They have to give up on certain creature comforts and conveniences.
Apple is probably concerned about how opening itself up could shatter the illusion of how great its products really are. If customers realize that third-party apps and products work just as great as Apple’s, there would be no reason to drop $550 for the AirPods Max when a pair of $250 headphones works just as well, if not better.
Apple’s rivalry with Meta
There are reasons Apple specifically called out Meta in its paper. For starters, both companies have beef with each other. One of those reasons is that back in 2020, as part of the iOS 14 update, Apple introduced a new feature called App Tracking Transparency. This gave users the choice of whether they wanted to share data with users.
Meta relies on this data to sell personalized ads, so obviously it wasn’t happy with this and criticized Apple. Apple later took their own swipe back at Meta, which then caused Meta to respond in kind. Since then, both companies have been taking the occasional jab at each other.
In this paper, Apple specifically outlines how Meta made multiple requests that could impact the privacy and security of users. “Meta has made 15 requests (and counting) for potentially far-reaching access to Apple’s technology stack that, if granted as sought, would reduce the protections around personal data that our users have come to expect from their devices.”
Sheesh, enough with the privacy shtick
Whenever Apple is asked to do something it doesn’t want to do, especially when it comes to playing nicely with others, the company always cites issues like security and privacy. A good example would be the support for RCS. The company had previously claimed that its iMessage platform has the best security.
This was the same excuse the company gave when asked to allow the sideloading of apps on its iPhones. Now more recently, the company gave the same reasoning in its paper when the EU asked Apple to ensure iOS interoperability with other platforms.
This does not mean that Apple’s concerns are completely unfounded. Some of these requests might indeed have the potential to lead to security issues. There have been multiple instances over the years of Android users infecting their devices with malware after downloading apps from third-party stores and websites.
Let’s not forget that Meta is hardly the poster child when it comes to privacy either.
However, claiming that its services and products are the best and most secure is a level of arrogance from Apple that’s hard to believe. Does the company even believe its claims, or is it just a thinly veiled excuse to keep users locked into its ecosystem?
Future opportunities to innovate
People typically view Apple as an innovative company. The company has launched many products over the years that changed the industry landscape. The iPod is a great example. So is the iPhone. Apple also popularized the ultra-thin laptop form factor when the company’s late co-founder Steve Jobs pulled the first-ever MacBook Air out of a manilla envelope.
With all this history of innovation, this request by the EU to ensure greater iOS interoperability should not be viewed as a threat to Apple’s bottom line. Instead, the company needs to view this as an opportunity to create better and more innovative products.
Ultimately, users want to use a product that just works. Apple needs to come up with a way to ensure its products not only work, but work so well that users have no reason to seek an alternative. A great example would be Google.
There are several other more secure and privacy-focused search engines out there. Despite that, Google is still the preferred search engine because it works so well. Microsoft’s Windows is another perfect example. There are other operating systems like Unix, Linux, and macOS, but users still choose Windows at the end of the day.
The user perspective
Apple has always boasted about how it is a company that always thinks of its users. The recently released DMA paper by Apple further cements this. “That is why, every single time we open developer access to functionalities, we give careful thought to how to do it in a way that continues to protect users”
The question is, is Apple really thinking about its users? This is something the EU is actually pushing for. The reason behind the EU’s demand for better iOS interoperability is so that users who don’t want to pay the “Apple tax” on its smartwatches or headphones, can seek third-party alternatives that work just as well.
For instance, while Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses work with iOS devices, the connection is known to drop quite easily. Transferring photos from the smart glasses to a phone is also quite a complicated and roundabout process.
In conclusion
Like it or not, Apple will most likely have to give in to the EU’s demands for iOS interoperability. The company faces extremely heavy fines if they don’t. It wouldn’t be surprising if Apple were to fight using every legal means at its disposal. Conversely, spending those resources to come up with useful solutions could be a better use of its time and money.
This request would have the biggest impact on Apple, but there could be reasons why users should pay attention to this as well. These changes could affect the way you use your device in the future. It could be in a positive way, where you might have more options where you download your apps from, which accessory you choose to use with your iOS device, and so on.
It wouldn’t be surprising if it could also end up affecting the industry too. With better interoperability, third-party accessories could be potentially cheaper too. Maybe device makers no longer need to pay a premium just for the coveted “Made for Apple” branding. But for now, only time will tell how all of this plays out in the long run.
2024-12-21 15:07:42