During a recent conversation at Apple Park, Apple CEO Tim Cook and European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager discussed various aspects of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) project in the European Union. The main topic of the meeting was the issue of allowing Apple to enable app installation from other stores in the 27 EU member countries. This concerns the feature of installing apps from other sources, known as ‘sideloading’.
In the past, Apple has been against sideloading due to concerns about the possibility of installing infected applications that could threaten the security of iPhones. However, under the DMA, Apple is obliged to allow sideloading from March next year. As a result, Apple is currently debating on how to introduce this feature without exposing users to risk.
During the conversation, Vestager and Cook also addressed ongoing competition cases in the EU, including Spotify’s complaint against Apple Music. The DMA aims to solve the issue of Apple’s 30% share in app purchase revenue and promote the use of payment services from other companies in Apple’s NFC mobile payment technology.
In the case of sideloading, it is likely that Apple will limit this feature to iPhones purchased in EU member countries, allowing for greater control over the process. However, there are plans to expand the availability of other features, such as RCS support, to iPhones worldwide.
The conversation also brought up a comparison to a previous dispute that arose when the EU introduced a law on common chargers, which required Apple to replace the Lightning port with USB-C. Instead of offering different versions of iPhone models, Apple decided to unify the charging ports across all new iPhones, starting with the iPhone 15 series.
In summary, the meeting between Tim Cook and Margrethe Vestager highlighted the challenges that Apple faces in implementing the EU’s DMA, while taking into account concerns regarding user safety. Discussions focused on the introduction of sideloading, revenue sharing, and NFC mobile payments. As Apple continues to comply with these regulations, users can expect changes in future iPhone models tailored to EU requirements.
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The source of the article is from the blog oinegro.com.br