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Apple reportedly appealed two European Commission decisions requiring it to make selected iPhone and iPad capabilities more accessible to rival connected devices and developers. The decisions, adopted on March 19, 2025, set out how Apple should implement an existing Digital Markets Act (DMA) obligation; they were not a finding that Apple had violated the DMA and did not impose a fine. The reported appeal’s precise scope, legal venue and current outcome have not been confirmed in the available official materials.
What Apple is challenging
Axios reported on June 2, 2025, that Apple had appealed the Commission’s interoperability specifications, citing Apple’s concerns about privacy and security. The subject was not a general order to open iOS or a fine. It was two Commission specification decisions under Article 6(7) of the DMA: Case DMA.100203, covering interoperability with third-party connected devices, and Case DMA.100204, covering Apple’s process for handling developers’ access requests.
The available official sources establish what the Commission decided, but do not confirm the full details or current status of Apple’s reported appeal. They also do not establish whether Apple challenged both decisions, sought an order suspending any requirements, or obtained one. Do not assume the reported appeal automatically paused implementation.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchWhat the DMA requires—and what the decisions specify
Article 6(7) of the DMA requires designated gatekeepers to provide, free of charge, effective interoperability and access for interoperability purposes to certain hardware and software features controlled through their operating systems. The obligation applies where the gatekeeper uses those features for its own services or hardware. In plain terms, the aim is to let rival products connect to and use relevant platform capabilities on effective terms, rather than face a disadvantage simply because they are not made by the platform owner. The Commission’s overview of interoperability also recognizes that gatekeepers may use measures that are strictly necessary and proportionate to protect system integrity.
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The March 2025 decisions give that general obligation a more specific shape for Apple. They concern selected iOS and iPadOS features and access procedures—not every part of the operating system. They do not require Apple to make iOS open source, remove all security controls, or give competitors the entire iPhone operating system.
Two decisions, two practical tracks
DMA.100203: access for connected devices
This decision addresses how third-party physical devices and their companion apps can use selected iPhone capabilities. The Commission’s materials describe measures involving areas such as iOS notifications, proximity-triggered pairing, high-bandwidth peer-to-peer Wi-Fi, background execution, NFC controller access in reader/writer mode, close-range wireless file transfer and Wi-Fi network information shared with Apple’s own connected devices. The decision’s annexes define the measures; this is not an unrestricted grant of access to every iOS feature. See the decision text and the Commission’s implementation timetable and case page.
For a smartwatch maker, better access to notifications or pairing could make an iPhone companion experience more useful. For a headphones or smart-glasses maker, connectivity and background behavior may matter to setup or ongoing features. But a capability being covered by the decision does not mean every rival device will offer it: the manufacturer must build support, and the eventual experience depends on the device, its app and Apple’s implementation.
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DMA.100204: a clearer route for developer requests
The second decision concerns Apple’s process for developers seeking access to iOS or iPadOS features. The Commission required greater transparency, predictable handling, technical documentation, communication with applicants and a way to resolve disputes—including when Apple rejects a request or proposes a solution the applicant considers less effective. It is a process obligation, not automatic approval of every request. Details are in the decision and the Commission’s March 19, 2025 announcement.
How an EU developer can request interoperability
Apple publishes a separate EU interoperability request process. Its stated prerequisites and steps include:
- Hold an Apple Developer Program membership in good standing and accept the current Apple Developer Program License Agreement.
- Submit a request through the Feedback Assistant app or website. Apple asks for a separate request for each feature unless a project genuinely needs multiple related capabilities.
- Explain the feature sought, the business or technical need, and why existing APIs are insufficient. Respond to requests for clarification.
- Wait for Apple’s eligibility assessment and, if the request proceeds, work through a project plan, feedback on the proposed solution, and development and release.
Apple says it will generally provide an initial eligibility assessment within 20 working days. It publishes target development periods of six months for minor engineering efforts, 12 months for mild efforts and 18 months for significant efforts, generally no later than 24 months from submission, subject to exceptions. These are published targets, not a guarantee of delivery by a fixed date.
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Developers can ask for internal review in specified circumstances, including certain technical-scope rejections or a proposed solution they consider not equally effective. Apple’s published deadline is 15 working days from the rejection notice or its response to feedback, excluding European Commission public holidays. This developer review is entirely separate from Apple’s reported challenge to the Commission’s decisions.
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Why Apple objects—and the Commission’s answer
According to Axios’s report, Apple argued that the specifications could force it to share user information with outside developers and create privacy or security risks. Apple’s broader interoperability documentation says it considers whether requested access could expose users or devices to malicious actors, crime, fraud or other security threats. Those are Apple’s stated concerns, not proof that the Commission’s measures are unsafe: the cited materials do not provide an independent technical assessment establishing that conclusion.
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The Commission’s position is that system-integrity safeguards can be legitimate when strictly necessary and proportionate, but they must not be used to frustrate effective interoperability. That creates a practical policy question: can Apple provide scoped, documented access with safeguards, and are restrictions applied in a way that does not give Apple’s own products an unjustified advantage? The DMA does not mean every rival must receive identical access to every private framework or that competing products must become identical to Apple’s.
Dates and implementation context
- September 19, 2024: The Commission opened the two specification proceedings.
- March 19, 2025: It adopted the decisions in DMA.100203 and DMA.100204.
- May 20, 2025: The Commission’s timetable set this date for most request-process measures.
- July 21, 2025: The timetable set this date for the dispute-resolution mechanisms.
- June 1, 2026: Several connected-device measures were due, including iOS-notification measures and proximity-triggered pairing.
The Commission’s May 2026 factsheet describes interoperability and data-portability improvements for connected devices such as headphones, smartwatches and smart glasses. It also says Apple and Google have been working on a cross-operating-system data-transfer solution for people moving between iPhone and Android. That broader work is relevant context, but it should not be mistaken for proof that every feature in the Apple decisions is already implemented for every device.
What iPhone users may notice
Over time, implementation could make selected experiences with non-Apple wearables or accessories better—for example, receiving notifications, pairing a device, or keeping a companion app working in the background. It could also give developers a more structured way to seek platform access needed for an app or connected product. The actual changes depend on Apple’s implementation, manufacturers’ choices and the features a particular product supports.
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There is no promise that a third-party watch will work exactly like an Apple Watch, or that rival headphones will gain every Apple-specific feature. Nor should users outside the EU assume the same access rules apply where the DMA does not. The obligations discussed here are part of the EU regime, and Apple distinguishes its EU process from its general worldwide interoperability-request process.
Specification is not a fine or a breach finding
The March 2025 decisions specified measures for implementing an existing DMA obligation. They were not, by themselves, a finding that Apple had already breached the DMA in this proceeding, and they did not impose a fine. A separate noncompliance investigation would address whether a gatekeeper failed to meet its obligations and could have different consequences. Keeping those processes distinct matters: a headline about an appeal of specifications is not evidence that Apple was fined or found guilty in this case.
What remains unresolved
The reported appeal needs to be read with a qualification: the available official materials do not establish its precise legal venue, which decision provisions Apple challenged, whether it sought interim relief, or the appeal’s current outcome. They also do not establish that deadlines were altered by the challenge. The decisions and implementation timetable can be checked on the Commission’s case page; the report of the appeal is from Axios.
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