Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. Features

The EU is building your next iPhone, and it’s going to be fine

Michael Allison
By

Your next iPhone may come with an Apple logo, but the EU is taking a more active hand in designing it than it has in the past. In the space of just a few months, the EU has made some decisions aimed at repudiating select Apple design decisions. Some are small, some are large, and all will mean your iPhone is a little less Apple, and a little more flexible.

The first and most headline-grabbing one: Apple is being forced to open up the App Store in Europe. No, the company is not required to open up its app store to all and sundry. Instead, it now has to allow the iPhone to host alternate app stores. This will create a state of affairs that exists on the Android platform where the Google Play Store exists, and users are also able to install apps from the Amazon App Store or even places like APKMirror or direct from the app developer. It’s important to note that none of these app environments are exclusive. An app developer could opt to build for some, all, or just one app distribution platform (though it’s incredibly hard to keep apps on Android away from the open market.)

Someone holding the iPhone XR outdoors while it displays apps.
Digital Trends

A later report claimed that Apple will be making some of these changes, most notably the ones with the iPhone. It’ll be limiting them to Europe, but with noises being made all around the world, it’s hard to see them remaining exclusive for too long. More importantly, it’ll demonstrate the weakness of Apple’s security arguments in a live environment. On the other hand, they might end up meaning nothing. Even on Android phones, the existence of third-party app stores has not led to a Play Store exodus, as some more fanciful takes have argued.

Recommended Videos

“Realistically, third-party app stores are more about cutting Apple out of the revenue chain than an overwhelming consumer demand. Sideloading certainly brings some additional security issues, though Apple may be allowed to put some guardrails there to mitigate the threat,” Avi Greengart of Techsponential told Digital Trends in an emailed comment. “I don’t think the app store changes will make much difference since most consumers wouldn’t feel the need to download third-party apps, and probably wouldn’t know how to side-load them anyway. As you say, the majority of users, both iOS and Android, just stick with defaults.”

Related

Apple’s biggest concern here could see a more direct crack into iPhone exclusivity through iMessage. As Counterpoint’s Jan Stryzak pointed out, “The Digital Markets Act also calls for interoperability between different messaging platforms, which may actually be a bad thing for Apple as it would allow those who currently stick with iOS because they are iMessage users to swap to Android and continue as before.” Bloomberg notes that Apple has no plans to adopt RCS at the moment. Would Google, a fervent RCS campaigner, miss this chance to make a case? Probably not. 

The iPad mini 2021 adopted the USB-C port for charging and data.
Adam Doud/Digital Trends

The second major change that’s coming to iPhones is the new USB-C connector. Scheduled for 2024 at the latest, it’s a simultaneously big and small change. I mean, on almost every other Apple product you can buy, whether iPad Pro or MacBook, you’re presented with a USB-C charger. Take a look over at Windows laptops, Android phones, or Kindle e-readers, and you also have USB-C options. Apple has been holding out for far too long, and especially as the move away from built-in chargers continues, the iPhone’s insistence on sticking to lightning (though reflective of Apple’s 10-year promise of sticking to the port), is an inconvenience.

On the other hand, for those who’ve been invested in the Apple ecosystem, switching to USB-C will mean purchasing new accessories for your iPhone. It would anyway, and despite Apple’s protestations, it’s always been a matter of when and not if.

“The USB-C ruling is a mixed bag for Apple consumers. On one hand, Apple users who own peripherals that use the Lightning connector will need to purchase adaptors if they upgrade to the USB-C iPhone. On the other hand, Android users with USB-C peripherals will be free to switch to Apple without needing to buy new ones,” Strazak said, “Having said all that, I still think movement between iOS and Android will be limited regardless of the changes, as most people will stick to the ecosystem they are used to.”

Someone holding the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Joe Maring/Digital Trends

Ultimately, as Greengart notes, the biggest issue for Apple here is the EU taking more direct control over the iPhone. It’s not that USB-C is bad or opening up app store access is bad, it’s that Apple didn’t want to do it — or would have liked to make that decision.

For you and me, it’s not a downside we really need to worry about. Sure, governments and regulations have always influenced how products are designed, but rarely directly. The iPhone has been a uniquely Apple product for a while, but dissatisfaction with the company’s choices has been growing. Still, the fundamentals of the iPhone will remain the same. The software, extensive app catalog, and network effects will still remain, regulation or not. However Tim Cook may feel about it, the next iPhone is coming from Apple and the EU, and you’re going to love it.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Michael Allison
Michael Allison
Mobile News Writer
A UK-based tech journalist for Digital Trends, helping keep track and make sense of the fast-paced world of tech with a…
How I use my Apple Watch and iPhone to manage my diabetes
iPhone 15 Pro showing One Drop app and kit.

It’s November, which means it’s Diabetes Awareness Month, with World Diabetes Day recently happening on November 14. According to data from the Apple Heart and Movement Study (AHMS) and Apple Women’s Health Study (AWHS), there are about 537 million adults worldwide who are currently living with diabetes, with that number potentially reaching 643 million by 2030. In the U.S. alone, about two out of five people will develop diabetes in their lifetime, and more than one in three adults have elevated glucose levels that put them in the pre-diabetes zone.

I was pre-diabetic since my college years (it runs in both sides of my family), but then my doctor officially diagnosed me with Type 2 diabetes around early 2018. However, I was told that my case was more “mild” than others and that taking some medication — while also cutting out carbs and sweets, plus daily exercise — can help me keep it under control.

Read more
The iPhone is getting out of control
The Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro showing the screens.

Apple iPhone 14 Pro (left) and iPhone 15 Pro Max Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

When Apple launched the original iPhone in 2007, it was as easy as could be — it was just the iPhone. There was only one model, and when you said you wanted an iPhone, the sales rep would know which one you meant ... because that was all there was.

Read more
One of our favorite Android phones just got its own iMessage app
Nothing Chats app on a. phone.

Nothing is trying to bridge the great blue/green bubble divide for Android users of iMessage. This is not a personal crusade to shatter walls and open windows, as much as Nothing CEO Carl Pei would want you to believe that. Instead, Nothing is piggybacking on tech created by New York-based startup Sunbird. 
Technically, the Sunbird app can be installed on any Android phone and it features a blue bubble for all iMessage text exchanges involving an Android phone. No more green bubble shame that could get you kicked out of groups for disrupting the harmony or even slim your dating chances. That’s how bad it is! 
Nothing is adopting the Sunbird tech and bundling it as its very own app under the name Nothing Chats. But here’s the fun part. The app only works on the Nothing Phone 2 and not the Nothing Phone 1. And this life-altering boon will only be bestowed upon users in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., or the EU bloc.

The app is currently in the beta phase, which means some iMessage features will be broken or absent. Once the app is downloaded on your Nothing Phone 2, you can create a new account or sign up with your Apple ID to get going with blue bubble texts. 
Just in case you’re concerned, all messages will be end-to-end encrypted, and the app doesn’t collect any personal information, such as the users’ geographic location or the texts exchanged. Right now, Sunbird and Nothing have not detailed the iMessage features and those that are broken. 
We made iMessage for Android...
The Washington Post tried an early version of the Nothing Chats app and notes that the blue bubble system works just fine. Texts between an Android device and an iPhone are neatly arranged in a thread, and multimedia exchange is also allowed at full quality. 
However, message editing is apparently not available, and a double-tap gesture for responding with a quick emoji doesn’t work either. We don’t know when these features will be added. Nothing's Sunbird-based app will expand to other territories soon. 
Sunbird, however, offers a handful of other tricks aside from serving the iMessage blue bubble on Android. It also brings all your other messaging apps, such as WhatsApp and Instagram, in one place. This isn’t an original formula, as Beeper offers the same convenience.

Read more