The European Parliament passed sweeping legislation last week intended to make recycling batteries easier. The new rules will require Apple to redesign iPhone and iPad so their batteries can be replaced by users. (Android devices will face the same mandate.)
This will be the second major hardware change to Apple products to result from EU legislation. iPhones soon will come with a USB-C port in place of Lightning because of a European requirement.
The European Parliament picked December 28, 2024 as date after which iPhone and all other handsets sold in the EU must have a USB-C port. That means the iPhone 17 in 2025 will definitely not include a Lightning port.
But unconfirmed reports say Apple will make the change earlier than that.
The European Parliament voted in an overwhelming majority Tuesday to enforce USB-C as the standard charging port across a wide range of consumer electronics. The law will come into effect by the end of 2024.
With the legislation passed, Apple has a couple of years to complete the transition of its product lineup to USB-C. The company continues to use the Lightning port on iPhone and some accessories for charging purposes. As the iPhone maker adapts to these regulatory shifts, users can expect significant changes in Apple’s hardware ecosystem.
The European Parliament passed the landmark Digital Markets Act on Tuesday. The legislation aims to outlaw many common practices of Big Tech companies, especially Apple, Google and Amazon.
For iPhone users, the DMA would force Apple to allow rival app stores and sideloaded applications. And these are only two of many significant changes in the act.
There are still further steps the the EU government must go through before the DMA goes into effect, but that’s expected to happen before the end of 2022.
The Lightning port’s days are numbered. The EU government has settled on a plan that will require all new phones and tablets to have a USB-C port, including iPhone.
But is seems Apple saw the writing on the wall and is already getting ready to switch iPhone from Lightning to USB-C.
As expected from previous actions and statements, the European Union formally objected Monday to how Apple denies other companies use of the technology that drives Apple Pay.
The European Union reportedly plans to accuse Apple of violating the law by limiting access to the iPhone’s NFC capabilities to the company’s own payment system. The goal is to give rival systems like PayPal access to the iPhone’s convenient tap-to-pay function.
Apple claims the limitation is there to protect users’ financial information. The EU calls it anticompetitive.
The European Union plans to break down the barriers between mobile messaging services. With its Digital Markets Act, it plans to force services like iMessage, WhatsApp, and smaller messaging platforms to play nicely together.
The move would be a major blow to Apple, which has long used iMessage — which it refuses to bring to Android — as a big selling point of iPhone.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission is questioning Apple over privacy concerns raised by an ex-contractor who transcribed users’ Siri requests in an effort to improve the voice assistant’s functionality.
Former Apple contractor Thomas le Bonniec this week said Apple should be “urgently investigated” over Siri data collection. It seems that the EU’s data protection authorities are listening.
As Apple reopens its retail stores throughout Germany, regulators are considering investigating whether temperature checks of customers to ensure the safety of visitors and employees is a violation of European Union privacy laws.
Following a request to streaming services to switch from high definition to standard in an effort to reduce the strain on the internet, indications were Friday that Apple has followed suit of other major services and slowed down its Apple TV+ streaming service.
Cult of Mac has confirmed through two Apple TV users – one in Great Britain and one in southern France – that the quality of content on Apple TV+ has been lowered. Subscribers described the differences as primarily fast-moving content that is slower to refresh, heavily compressed and more pixelated.
YouTube and Amazon Prime Video confirmed Friday they will will start throttling video quality in Europe in an effort to reduce the strain on network infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The temporary measure will see all YouTube videos displayed in standard definition by default, though, it is still be possible for viewers to select a higher resolution.
Quarantine and chill is about to get a noticeable quality drop for Netflix users in Europe.
Netflix announced Thursday it would begin to reduce bit rates on all streams in Europe starting today. The move came shortly Netflix CEO Reed Hastings called a European Union official to discuss how to stop the internet from getting congested as more people are being told to work from home.
The European Parliament will soon vote on whether to require all phones, tablets and other mobile devices to use a single type of charger. If passed, this could force Apple to abandon its proprietary Lightning port in future iPhones.
Margrethe Vestager, head of the European Commission’s Competition department, has handed out giant fines to tech companies — such as Apple’s massive $14.5 billion bill in 2016.
But a new report suggests that Vestager isn’t done with tech companies by a long shot. In fact, the next several years could make the previous five look uneventful for Silicon Valley companies.
In August, EU antitrust investigators sent a questionnaire to banks and developers of rival payment systems about Apple Pay. They’ve gotten an earful, according to Margrethe Vestager, the EU Competition Commissioner.
Apple Pay, the iPhone’s built-in payment system, is reportedly in the sights of EU investigators. They are looking into whether Apple is giving its system an unfair advantage over competitors.
Apple could get an early indication about the likely outcome of its giant European Union (EU) tax case early this week.
Apple was in court last week protesting its 13 billion ($14.4 billion) tax bill from the EU. Although the case is likely to drag on for months, two related cases will be ruled on this week. They may offer Apple some clues about its chances of success.
Apple says that the European Commission doesn’t understand its business — and places way too much emphasis on the importance of its Irish divisions.
The accusation was made on the second day of Apple’s court hearing to appeal its $14.4 billion tax bill.
Apple has a fight on its hands this week as it goes to court to battle the world’s biggest tax case. The company will protest its 2016 European Union tax bill of 13 billion euros ($14.4 billion).
The EU charged Apple the money after saying it had an unfair tax arrangement with Ireland. Apple has always protested its innocence. This week, a court will start the process of deciding whether the regulators were right.
Apple will challenge the European Union in court next month over the 13 billion euro ($14.4 billion) Apple was ordered to pay in 2016.
The appeal is due to take place on September 17 and 18 at Europe’s General Court.
Apple’s iWork platform has been banned from German schools alongside Microsoft Office 365 and Google Docs.
Privacy regulators say that using the cloud-based services “exposes personal information about students and teachers.” They also suggest that the data might be accessed by U.S. authorities.
The escrow fund containing the massive $16 billion fine Apple was commanded to pay by the EU declined by $18 million last year.
The funds are being held in an escrow account while appeals by Apple and Ireland make their way through the court. In the meantime, the money is invested — but, at least based on last year, not as successfully as hoped.
The European Union decided that there’s enough evidence to justify a formal investigation into Apple’s business practices. This is a result of Spotify’s accusation that Apple is using its control of the App Store to squeeze out competition.
Apple has reportedly agreed to open up its NFC capabilities on the iPhone for a U.K. government app. This Brexit app will help EU citizens apply for residency in the U.K. after it leaves the European Union.
The EU Exit app allows users to scan the chip inside their passports with their smartphone’s NFC reader. While this has been possible to do on Android phones, Apple has not previously allowed developer access to its NFC reading tech.