I have a unequalled life-style , always shuffling between different smartphone platforms . I wish sharing files between Apple and Android devices was easier , so my ears perked up when I saw the EU Commission require Apple to open up AirDrop .
Under the guise of advertise “ good interoperability ” within the smartphone industrythrough the Digital Markets Act ( DMA ) , the European Commission is asking Apple to launch the gate of its walled garden a little more so that Android users and anyone else who want access can periodically flirt inside . The commission write :
“ The preliminary findings in the first specification transactions outline the proposed measure the Commission considers Apple should implement to efficaciously comply with its interoperability obligation in copulation to several iOS connectivity feature , preponderantly used for and by connected devices . These can be telling , automatic Wi - Fi connection , AirPlay , AirDrop , or automatic Bluetooth sound recording switch . ”
© Florence Ion / Gizmodo
This proposal was initially madein September , but today , the European Commission is more specific about what it wants to spread up . It mention notifications , Wi - Fi connectivity , Bluetooth audio switching , and AirDrop , the Apple ecosystem ’s major title to celebrity and most proprietary offering .
In its “ interoperability ” report , Apple responded , “ It ’s getting personal . ” The company say that the DMA ’s suggestions will open up its platform in a path that puts “ exploiter at risk of exposure , requiring them to open their devices — and their most sensitive data — to companies with a track record of violating their privacy . ”
The company explicitly calls out Meta and its properties in the PDF issue on Apple ’s developer internet site , which you could readin full :
“ If Apple were to have to allow all of these requests , Facebook , Instagram , and WhatsApp could enable Meta to read on a users gimmick all of their substance and e-mail , see every phone call they make or get , go after every app that they use , scan all of their exposure , look at their files and calendar events , log all of their passwords , and more . This is data that Apple itself has chosen not to get at in decree to provide the strongest possible protective covering to exploiter . ”
Apple insist that it lets its exploiter decide whether or not to share certain selective information required for a finicky user experience . It says that what the DMA ask for could result in company like Meta pull in “ unfettered access to exploiter ’ devices and their most personal data . ” Apple says Meta has requested access to feature like AirPlay , App Intents , CarPlay , iPhone Mirroring , and the Continuity Camera .
Apple is fantastic at marketing itself as a company that cares first and first about its users . I do n’t in particular like opening Android to every third - company player , either . I ’m win over that if we all stay in separate lanes , we ’ll be ok and more secure .
But this seems like something Apple could cede to , in a way . For instance , Android use Google Cast and Quick Share to shuffle streaming and files between devices . I do n’t needs need access to AirPlay and AirDrop , the Apple platform ’s equivalents , to get that experience . I need Apple to allow that form of third - party usage . Most streaming apps , even on iOS , already default on to Google Cast if they ascertain there are gadget usable on a electronic internet .
The EU Commission ’s next steps are to “ carefully assess ” the feedback Apple and other “ interested parties ” have provided . It has about six month to regard all this and determine how Apple should comply in a agency it take for fair to all users . I ’m personally curious to see how this end up . If it mean an easy clip get off photos to an Android gadget , I may have difficulty seeing it from Apple ’s detail of scene .
AirDropAirPlayAppleMETA
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