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I have a unique lifestyle, moving frequently between different mobile platforms. I wish file sharing between Apple and Android devices was easier, so my ears perked up when I saw the EU Commission asking Apple to open up AirDrop.
Under the guise of promoting “effective interaction” within the smartphone industry through the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the European Commission is asking Apple to open the gates of its partially walled garden so that Android users and anyone else who wants a chance to play inside from time to time.. The Commission is writing:
“The findings of the preliminary results show the steps that the Commission considers that Apple should follow in order to comply with its obligations in relation to several communication tools in iOS, which are widely used by connected devices. These can be notifications, Wi-Fi connection, AirPlay, AirDrop , or change the sound to Bluetooth.”
These ideas were originally developed in September, but today, the European Commission is saying more about what it wants to open. It mentions notifications, Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth audio transfer, and AirDrop, which Apple claims are popular and offered by many owners.
In its “disagreement” report, Apple responded, “It’s getting personal.” The company says the DMA proposal will open up its platform in a way that puts “users at risk, requiring them to open up their devices — and their sensitive information — to companies with a history of violating their privacy.”
The company invites Meta and its products in a PDF published on Apple’s website, which you can read in full:
“If Apple were to grant all these requests, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp would allow Meta to read messages and emails on any device, see every phone call they make or receive, track every app they use. , take all their photos, look at files their calendar events, enter all their passwords, etc. This is something that Apple itself has chosen not to provide the strongest security for users.
Apple insists that it allows users to choose whether or not to share certain information important to their applications. It says the DMA’s request could allow companies like Meta to gain “unlimited access to users’ devices and personal information.” Apple says Meta has requested access to things like AirPlay, App Intents, CarPlay, iPhone Mirroring, and Continuity Camera.
Apple is great at marketing itself as a company that cares about its users. I don’t particularly like unlocking Android for any other player, either. I believe that if we all live in different ways, we will be better and safer.
But this seems like Apple might stop, somehow. For example, Android uses Google Cast and Quick Share to share content and files between devices. I don’t need access to AirPlay and AirDrop, similar to the Apple platform, to know this. I want Apple to allow third party usage. Most streaming apps, even on iOS, default to Google Cast if they detect that there are devices available on the network.
The EU Commission’s findings are a “careful review” of Apple and other “parties”. It has about six months to think about all this and see how Apple should follow it in a way that it thinks is good for all users. I personally am interested to see how this will turn out. If it means an easier time sending photos to an Android device, I might have trouble seeing it from Apple’s point of view.
