The EU sinks its teeth into Apple

Smartphone giant is brought to heel by the bloc’s Digital Markets Act

On Wednesday 19th, Brussels brought forward legislation intended to make the tech markets “fairer” and more “contestable” – a move aimed at Apple’s business strategy of exclusivity and what the EU perceives as “gatekeeper” tactics.

Adopting USB-C compatibility for its iPhone 15 series onwards was one of the first concessions Apple has made in adhering to European regulation. This connection system is what is used in the majority of mobile devices, of which many utilise Android software.

Yet this crackdown on Apple’s “gatekeeper” business practices is not isolated to Europe. Only last year, the US Justice Department sued the company in an antitrust lawsuit over its software policy of having texts received from users with non-Apple operating systems appear in green. A plethora of issues in regard to degraded user experiences were identified in communication between iPhone and non-iPhone devices.

All sights are trained on Apple’s brand USP of exclusivity. Why is one of its key business strategies now at stake?

Apple is certainly a brand that defines itself by uniqueness and the clan nature of its tech product ecosystem. Its devices use the proprietary Apple operating system with proprietary Apple hardware – a powerful USP against the swathes of non-Apple brands who, for all their innovative advances and potential for surface-level customisation, collectively share the same base Android operating system.

Many have rapidly realised this, and so a stock Google Pixel will always have a different “skin” to a Samsung S-series. Note the word ‘skin’, however – ultimately they are both under the umbrella of Android.

Advantage has been taken of this, particularly with young people, of whom 87% in the US own an iPhone, according to a study by BlueMatrix back in 2022. Gen Z’s preference for cultural homogeneity, at least where tech is concerned, has made it the perfect target for Apple’s ecosystem strategies. Young people generally expect to see an iPhone, AirPods and possibly an iMac united in software harmony in each other’s device caches.

Such a herd mentality has even, in the US’s case, breached into the ostracisation of non-iPhone users, with a survey by All About Cookies reporting that 52% of Android users had felt “belittled” by iPhone counterparts. When Apple finally adopted USB-C for its 15 series, customers have since referred to the connection system as an “iPhone 15 charger” when requesting compatible chargers, rather than its universal designation – reflecting how insular the Apple ecosystem has become.

When probed on the appearance of ‘green texts’ demarcating an SMS message received on iMessage, Apple has cited the superior security of its own text service, which features end-to-end encryption and a malware blocker called “Blastdoor”. It argued that cross-compatibility could not be bridged, thus the significance of the colour designating an incompatible message platform.

What the US Justice Department found unfair, however, was that even the intrusion of a single SMS user in an iMessage group chat would negate perks from the Apple software, such as the encryption and image quality. The US Justice not only highlighted this “broad-based, exclusionary conduct” for directly degrading the experience of Android users but also drew attention to the “social stigma” from the perceived “breaking” of iMessage group chats.

Apple has proudly maintained its superior software security as a side-effect USP of its proprietary operating system. It has even purported its brand to be a keeper of security against the likes of Meta – yet in this case, this has toxified into the image of a zealous gatekeeper.

Now the EU is applying pressure on Apple to figuratively “open up” its software by loosening its restrictions on third-party apps and allowing interoperability with other commonly used message services such as WhatsApp. It has already forced Apple to unlock the cross-compatibility of Rich-Serving-Messaging (RSC) between iMessage and SMS to improve Android users’ experience.

The trade bloc has a history of stipulating corporate obligations to increase the mutual benefit of its participant countries’ consumers. Requiring plastic bottle companies to hinge caps to the neck of the bottle has been a recent example in which a small manufacturing adjustment has negated one of the common contributors to street littering.

A perhaps intended by-effect has also been to consumer comfort – consumers no longer have to stow caps when drinking and are drastically less likely to lose them. A similar principle is now being levied onto Apple’s software.

Whilst Apple’s sales growth year-on-year has stagnated, it has been able to continuously incorporate more users into its ecosystems simply by the passive strengths of its software, even if its hardware and designs have often retained the same characteristics.

Consequently, many consumers have felt that its annual smartphone releases do not reflect improvements from their previous generations – in effect, that Apple has become complacent. On the Android side of the market, it has been innovative players like “Nothing” that have made gains, which saw 246% growth between 2023 and 2024.

The tech company’s USPs are clearly threatened by the incremental crackdown of EU regulation. Whilst its iPhone is unlikely to fall off the smartphone throne anytime soon, any loss to its brand’s reputation for watertight privacy and the exclusivity of its ecosystem may serve to undermine it.

The fact that its base iPhone models continued to be shipped with standard 60-hertz refresh rate displays when virtually all mid-range Androids and above possess 120 hertz has been found aggravating by tech watchdogs.

It has resisted it for years and continues to, but any further concessions to the EU in allowing more iPhone-Android messaging compatibility may damage the brand, as interconnectivity blows gaps into its ecosystem. It will no doubt maintain its protestations that this weakens user security and experience.

Apple’s branch is in no way about to fall off, but the EU is certainly shaking its tree.