It appears that Apple has acknowledged that, in order to comply with new EU regulations, it will make the process of moving from the iPhone to Android easier and will also be opening up more areas of its walled garden.
In its Non-Confidential Summary of DMA Compliance Report, which is available through The Verge, Apple notes that it “plans to make further changes to its user data portability offering” on pages 10–11.
“Apple is developing a solution that helps mobile operating system providers develop more user-friendly solutions to transfer data from an iPhone to a non-Apple phone. Apple aims to make this solution available by fall 2025.”
The summary also mentions additional cross-OS data transfer technologies, which probably alludes to Google’s Switch to Android apps, which facilitate the transition from iPhone to Android. There is obviously space for improvement, though, as this software leaves behind important things like SMS messaging and premium apps. And maybe, even though it might take more than a year to show up, that’s precisely what Apple means when it makes the above comment.
Letting go of the Walled Garden Gate
The entire paper details how Apple intends to comply with the requirements of the EU’s recently introduced Digital Markets Act (DMA), a law designed to prevent large corporations like Apple from controlling the digital industry. This includes the option to uninstall Safari completely, the opportunity to utilize log-in methods other than Sign in with Apple, and faster data transfer from Safari to other browsers.
Whether these will be adjustments that apply to all iPhone users in the EU or simply those who live in the EU is not made clear in Apple’s statement. Based on the way Apple’s iOS 17.4 betas have restricted access to alternative app stores to the EU, it appears that most, if not all, of these policies will only apply to users in Europe. This might deny iPhone users in the US and other countries of some very helpful features.
will monitor any updates about these modifications to the iPhone experience as the Digital Markets Act gains greater traction. While waiting, you might want to learn more about iOS 18, the anticipated release of the next major software update for the iPhone, which is likely to bring significant AI improvements along with further DMA-inspired tweaks.