The pressure from European Union (EU) regulators on Apple is increasing day by day. This time, they have announced that they will impose astronomical fines if Apple does not open up its ‘closed ecosystem’, which has been a core strategy since its inception. This means that they will increase compatibility with other companies, such as increasing connectivity between iPhones and Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Watches.
The European Union (EU) Commission ordered Apple on the 19th (local time) to complete measures within six months to enable compatibility with third-party smartwatches, headphones, and other connected devices for its iPhone and iPad operating system (OS) iOS. This specifically states that in order to maintain the “interoperability” specified in the European Digital Markets Act (DMA) that came into effect early this year, Apple must open its OS to third parties so that iPhones and connected devices such as third-party smartwatches, headphones, and virtual reality (VR) headsets can be connected as seamlessly as its own devices. The pressure is for Apple to abandon its existing exclusive method of compatibility “only with Apple products.”
The EU also said it would review whether Apple handles compatibility requests from external developers fairly and transparently. If Apple fails to comply with the request within six months, it could open a formal investigation and impose fines. The fine for DMA violations could be up to 10% of global annual sales, which could amount to more than 50 trillion won in Apple’s case.
Apple said it would cooperate with EU regulators in pushing for iOS openness, but also complained that “weakening the protections we have built over time could put European consumers at risk.” If Apple accepts the EU’s regulatory demands, there could be a major change in the mobile device market, which is divided between iOS and Android OS. The American media outlet Axios predicted that “Apple will even have to worry about whether it can continue to do business in Europe.”
Apple has been under pressure from all sides since the enforcement of the ultra-strong DMA law in Europe, which was enacted to prevent monopoly abuse by big tech. In order to avoid a huge fine early this year, it changed its existing policy to allow apps to be downloaded from websites other than the App Store. In accordance with another regulation by the EU authorities, it replaced the charging terminal with a ‘USB-C type’ starting with the iPhone 15 released last year. It also announced that it would postpone the launch of its new artificial intelligence (AI) system ‘Apple Intelligence’ only in Europe due to uncertainty over the DMA.
Reporter Jang Eun-ji [email protected]
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2024-09-21 15:02:27