The EU hits Apple again – this time demanding major changes to the iPhone

As discussed by Mark Gurman in his “Power On” column on Bloomberg, the European Union is indeed pushing Apple to “play nicer” with other tech companies.

Following the EU's success in getting Apple to allow European users to download apps from countries other than the Apple App Store, it is now targeting some changes to the current hardware.

What is on the EU agenda this time, according to Gurman?

They want smartwatches from other OEMs to get the same features currently exclusive to the Apple Watch, they write. foreign media, the Telegraph reports.

Plus, they are demanding that Apple grant wider access to the iPhone's NFC chip – this is the near-field communication technology that enables contactless payments.

Gurman also stressed that the EU wants Apple to open up AirDrop and AirPlay, those features that facilitate seamless file transfer and media streaming within the Apple ecosystem.

What is Apple likely to do?

Gurman laid out several possible scenarios of what could happen.

Apple could simply comply with the regulations which would involve modifications to its operating system and potentially hardware.

They may also challenge regulations, which could lead to legal challenges and the risk of significant financial penalties.

However, Gurman also raised an interesting possibility: Apple could choose to disable some of these features entirely for users within the European Union. /Telegraph/