The EU, Apple's two-letter headache, has the tech giant reaching for the aspirin again

The EU, Apple’s two-letter headache, has the tech giant reaching for the aspirin again،

Apple has a two-letter headache. These two letters are EU. Thanks to the Common Charger Act passed by the EU, Apple replaced its proprietary Lightning port for charging and data transfers with a USB-C port starting with the iPhone 15 series this year. The EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) also put slight pressure on Apple, leading to the decision to allow the iPhone to support Rich Communications Services (RCS) during the year next.

EU regulators have pressured Apple to replace Lightning with USB-C and add RCS support.

By supporting RCS, iPhone users will be able to benefit from features such as read receipts, typing indicators, high-quality photos and videos, and end-to-end encryption when messaging with an Android user.

EU is Apple's two-letter puzzle - EU, Apple's two-letter puzzle, has tech giant reaching for aspirin again

The EU is Apple's headache

Apple has never allowed iPhone users to download apps because that means users will be able to install apps that Apple can't scan for malware like it can with apps from the App Store. But thanks to the DMA, Apple may be forced to allow sideloading next year, but it may only approve sideloading on iPhones available in the 27 EU member states. Sideloading is still expected to be blocked by Apple in the US and most other countries outside of those that are members of the EU.

And now there are more. According to Bloomberg, EU regulators are set to decide whether to punish Apple for preventing apps offering music streaming subscriptions from redirecting subscribers to alternative websites where payments can be made. Apple is trying to prevent this from happening as it bypasses its own in-app payment platform. The tech giant takes 15-30% of revenue generated from apps it processes using its payment platform and this so-called Apple tax has been the center of much controversy.

In addition to requiring Apple to allow music streamers to collect payments using alternative methods, Apple could be fined 10% of its $383.3 billion revenue for fiscal 2023 , or $38.3 billion. Even for a huge company worth over $3 trillion like Apple, this represents a huge change. The company could also be forced to change its business model in the EU. The EU is expected to make a decision early next year.

Some changes imposed on Apple by the EU, such as sideloading, will only be allowed in the 27 member states.

The Digital Markets Act will come into force next March and will prevent companies from promoting their own services in the EU ahead of competition. The tech giants will also not be able to combine personal data collected from their different services. The DMA also states that data received from third-party merchants cannot be used by large technology companies to compete with those merchants.

When it came to replacing Lightning ports with USB-C and supporting RCS, Apple decided it would be too expensive and time-consuming to make these changes only for iPhones sold in the EU. But with sideloading, the stakes are too high for Apple to support third-party app stores worldwide. The risk to iPhone users of accidentally installing a malicious app from an app store other than the App Store is simply too great for Apple to allow sideloading in markets other than the App Store. EU, where he is under pressure to allow it.

While Apple says it must prevent sideloading to keep users' iPhones secure, app developers have complained that Apple is taking this stance to force developers to pay the Apple tax. As for iPhone users, most say they paid for the device and if they want to risk installing malware that steals their personal data, that should be their decision.