The European Commission continues to expand the Digital Markets Act and adjust the rules Apple must follow through the arrival of iOS 20. After opening up the iPhone ecosystem to third-party marketplaces, third-party payments, and other changes, the EU wants Apple to keep improving the interoperability between its software and third-party devices.
The European Commission recently announced several decisions, including that third-party smartwatches and headsets will have to work with the iPhone, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro.
These are some of the changes Apple will have to make in iOS 19 and iOS 20:
- Non-Apple smartwatches need to be able to receive push notifications, including pictures, and the ability to reply to them—something the Pebble creator complained about during the announcement of his two new watches
- The ability to pair non-Apple connected devices, such as headphones and smartwatches, in a more straightforward fashion
- Virtual reality headsets will benefit from better and faster data connections with iPhones
- Integrate alternative solutions to AirDrop and AirPlay services
Apple will now have to add several new features for interactivity, data transfers, device set-up, and configuration while making it all clear to developers and users.
Most of these features will have to be available in beta by the end of 2025, which means around the testing period of iOS 19.2/iOS 19.3. They will also have to be publicly available by June (iOS 19.4/iOS 19.5) or the end of the year with iOS 20.1/20.2.
The feature that will take the longest to implement is the ability to offer automatic audio switching from non-Apple devices, which is expected by June of 2027, likely around the release of iOS 20.4/20.5.
The European Commission has a detailed document listing all the new features Apple will need to offer on iOS and iPadOS devices in the EU over the coming years. That said, some of these new features might eventually be made available for users everywhere, as Apple has changed some of its policies globally to match those in the EU.
Still, it’s unlikely that Apple will announce any of these features at WWDC 2025, as the company didn’t mention the DMA during last year’s keynote.
