Copying something on an iPhone and pasting it onto a Windows PC should be one of the least remarkable features imaginable. While this simple process seems effortless between an iPhone and Mac, Windows users are still left waiting.
Now, Microsoft is formally asking Apple to provide interoperable clipboard access through the company’s European Union interoperability process. The request, submitted on March 25, argues that iOS restrictions prevent third-party platforms from creating an experience comparable to Apple’s Universal Clipboard. Apple has now reached Phase III and committed to developing a solution.
Microsoft wants Windows to borrow Universal Clipboard
Apple’s Universal Clipboard lets users copy text, images, photos, and videos on one Apple device before pasting them directly onto another. Third-party iOS apps currently cannot offer the same continuous syncing. Microsoft stated that an app must remain in the foreground and receive explicit clipboard permission from the user, preventing background transfers between an iPhone and PC.
The company wants Windows users to copy text and other supported content on either device and paste it directly onto the other without repeatedly opening an app or approving each transfer. Phone Link already connects iPhones to Windows for calls, messages, notifications, contacts, and file transfers. Seamless clipboard sharing remains available only for supported Android phones.
Apple’s answer is coming in 2027
Apple plans to introduce an extension that receives a system notification when something enters the iPhone clipboard. The extension could then transfer that item to a paired device through Apple’s Accessory Transport framework. Users would provide permission once for each paired device through AccessorySetupKit.
The brand describes the project as a “significant engineering effort” and expects to finish development by fall 2027. A developer-facing beta will arrive sometime afterward, followed eventually by a full release. The published request lists the European Union as its intended market, so Apple has made no commitment to bring the capability worldwide.
This lengthy timeline is disappointing for such a basic interaction. Still, Apple opening one of its smoothest ecosystem perks to Windows could remove a surprisingly irritating obstacle for anyone carrying an iPhone beside a PC.
