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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteShort version: Apple brought an action before the EU General Court on May 30, 2025, challenging the European Commission’s March 19, 2025 specification decision on Apple’s process for providing iOS and iPadOS interoperability. The case concerns Digital Markets Act (DMA) Article 6(7), which requires effective, free access to relevant operating-system features for third parties.
The Commission’s measures are not a fine or a finding that Apple has already violated the DMA. They specify how an existing obligation should work, including access requests from makers of connected devices such as smartwatches and headphones. As of August 18, 2026, public material confirms the court action, but not a final judgment specifically deciding that interoperability challenge.
What Apple actually appealed
Apple’s public court action challenges the Commission’s March 19, 2025 decision identified as DMA.100204. That decision governs Apple’s request-based process for obtaining access to iOS and iPadOS features. The filing asks the General Court to annul all or part of the decision and its annex, contests the Commission’s authority and interpretation of the DMA, and argues that some requirements are legally and technically problematic.
Apple also asks the court to declare Article 6(7) of the DMA inapplicable under Article 277 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The public filing should not automatically be described as an appeal against every interoperability measure, or as a challenge to the entire DMA. Whether Apple separately challenged the connected-device decision, DMA.100203, must be determined from the complete court docket.
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Read the public action filed in the General Court.
What Article 6(7) requires
Article 6(7) requires a designated gatekeeper to provide third parties with effective and free interoperability with, and access for interoperability to, hardware and software features controlled through its operating systems. For Apple, the relevant systems are iOS and iPadOS.
The rule is intended to prevent Apple’s own products and services from receiving privileged access to capabilities that could materially improve a competing product. It does not mean that every private API automatically becomes public or that every accessory receives identical functionality.
The Commission’s interoperability overview explains the legal framework and its security limitations.
Why the Commission opened two proceedings
On September 19, 2024, the Commission opened specification proceedings to translate the broad Article 6(7) obligation into concrete requirements. The two proceedings addressed different problems:
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →| Decision | Subject | What it addresses |
|---|---|---|
| DMA.100203 | Interoperability with connected physical devices | Access for non-Apple hardware, including relevant capabilities used by smartwatches, headphones, televisions and other connected devices. |
| DMA.100204 | Request-based interoperability process | How Apple receives, assesses, explains, tracks and resolves third-party requests for access to iOS and iPadOS features. |
The Commission adopted both decisions on March 19, 2025. Its proceedings included consultation and technical dialogue rather than an immediate penalty determination.
Commission announcement opening the specification work.
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What kinds of products and features are involved?
The Commission specifically discusses connected physical products such as:
- smartwatches;
- headphones;
- televisions; and
- other non-Apple connected hardware.
Depending on the decision and a particular request, relevant capabilities can include pairing, notifications, device management, background operation and access to data needed for a connected product to function. These are examples of the technical areas at issue, not a promise that every product receives every capability.
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A rival manufacturer generally must submit a request and satisfy the applicable eligibility and technical conditions. A plausible feature is not automatically an approved entitlement, and coverage can differ between iOS and iPadOS.
Read the EUR-Lex material on DMA.100203 and the Commission’s connected-device and request-process page.
What Apple must change under the March 2025 measures
A more accountable request process
The Commission requires greater transparency, technical documentation, predictability, timely communication, dispute resolution and public tracking of requests. The objective is to stop an eligible request from disappearing into an opaque process or being delayed without a clear explanation.
How developers submit a request
Apple says developers in the EU can submit an interoperability request through the Feedback Assistant app or website. Apple generally provides an initial eligibility assessment within 20 working days for most requests. That period can be suspended when Apple needs additional information, when the developer delays feedback, or when an appeal or conciliation process begins.
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Apple publishes summaries of publicly accessible requests submitted since May 20, 2025. The tracker does not mean every request or technical detail is public.
Apple’s developer guidance and request route.
Implementation timing
The Commission’s developer portal says Apple should provide effective interoperability with covered connected-device functionality by June 1, 2027. That date is an implementation milestone for specified functionality, not an instruction that every iOS feature must be opened immediately.
Specification decision, non-compliance decision and appeal: three different things
| Process | Purpose | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Specification decision | Defines measures the gatekeeper must take to meet an existing DMA obligation. | It is not, by itself, a finding that Apple has already breached the DMA or a fine. |
| Non-compliance decision | Finds a breach and can lead to penalties or additional remedies. | It is not the same as specifying how an obligation should operate. |
| Court action | Asks the EU courts to review whether the Commission acted lawfully. | Filing an action does not prove Apple’s claims or suspend every implementation requirement. |
This distinction matters because headlines calling the March 2025 decisions a penalty or a declaration that Apple is “guilty” misstate their legal function.
Apple’s objections
Apple’s formal arguments in the court filing, together with its public statements, center on several claims:
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- requiring access to sensitive technologies or user-related information could expose competitors to capabilities Apple considers security-critical;
- broader interoperability could increase privacy and security risks;
- the Commission may have interpreted Article 6(7) more broadly than the DMA permits;
- some obligations may be disproportionate, insufficiently precise or difficult to apply to changing technology;
- “future-proof” requirements could require access to features whose design or competitive importance is not yet known; and
- additional safeguards and compliance work could affect product design or delay launches in the EU.
Apple’s September 24, 2025 explanation of the DMA also says EU requirements are changing how Apple products work together and can delay features. Statements that the rules force Apple to expose user data or weaken security are Apple’s characterization of the risk, not established findings by the court.
Apple’s public explanation of the DMA’s impact.
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The Commission’s position and safeguards
The Commission frames interoperability as a competition and innovation measure: third parties should be able to access relevant iOS features on terms that let them compete with Apple’s own products and services. It does not describe the obligation as unlimited access to Apple’s systems.
Apple may adopt measures to protect the integrity of its operating systems, hardware and software when those measures are strictly necessary and proportionate. The Commission’s approach relies on technical specifications, regulatory dialogue, consultations and case-specific requests. A security concern is therefore not an automatic veto, but neither is Article 6(7) a blanket requirement to remove security controls.
The Commission’s consumer and developer Q&A describes the request, explanation and dispute-resolution framework.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What changes for iPhone users and developers?
For users in the EU
The practical goal is better support for non-Apple accessories. A rival watch might be able to receive iPhone notifications or maintain more reliable background communication; a third-party headset could seek comparable pairing or device-management functions. These examples illustrate the type of use case, not guaranteed features or dates for a particular product.
For developers and hardware makers
Businesses gain a defined route to request access, receive an eligibility decision, obtain reasons for an outcome and use review or conciliation mechanisms. They still need to show that a request falls within the relevant decision and meet technical and security conditions.
For markets outside the EU
The measures operate in the EU regulatory context. They do not automatically create the same interoperability rights for users or developers in the United States or other non-EU markets, and they do not require a worldwide redesign of iOS.
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Status of the appeal as of August 18, 2026
Case status: Apple’s General Court action was brought on May 30, 2025 and publicly challenges the March 19, 2025 request-process decision, DMA.100204.
What is not established: The available public material does not show a final judgment specifically deciding that interoperability action. A July 8, 2026 General Court judgment found in public records concerns Apple’s earlier gatekeeper-designation litigation, not necessarily the May 30, 2025 challenge.
Implementation: The Commission portal lists June 1, 2027 for effective interoperability with covered connected-device functionality.
InfoCuria case information and the July 8, 2026 General Court press release should not be treated as a ruling on DMA.100204 without a specific judgment addressing that case.
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Possible outcomes include:
- upholding the Commission’s interpretation and specifications;
- annulling particular requirements while leaving others in place;
- narrowing the scope or operation of the measures;
- finding part of Article 6(7) inapplicable or unlawful; or
- leaving the action pending while implementation and regulatory dialogue continue.
Until a judgment on the specific interoperability action is issued, it is inaccurate to say Apple has won or lost the appeal.
What this case does not mean
- It does not make every iOS API public.
- It does not require Apple to abandon privacy or security protections.
- It does not guarantee that every non-Apple accessory will work exactly like an Apple accessory.
- It does not extend the EU interoperability rules automatically around the world.
- It does not make the March 2025 specification decisions a fine.
- It is separate from DMA rules on alternative app stores, payment steering, sideloading and default apps.
The Bottom Line
Apple is challenging a specific EU implementation of the DMA’s interoperability obligation, chiefly the request process in DMA.100204—not appealing the entire DMA and not appealing a fine. The rules could make it easier for rival devices to use relevant iPhone and iPad features in the EU, while Apple retains a right to justify strictly necessary, proportionate security safeguards. As of August 18, 2026, no public final judgment on this interoperability action has been established.
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