Apple has confirmed that several features included in the iOS 26 software update will not be available in the EU when it launches later this year. This is due to challenges in bringing the iOS 26 features into compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which imposes strict requirements on tech giants to promote fair competition and ensure interoperability across their platforms.
“We’ve already had to make the decision to delay the release of products and features we announced this month for our EU customers,” Kyle Andeer, Apple’s vice president of Legal, said at the 2025 Apple DMA compliance workshop in Brussels, according to The Wall Street Journal. He specifically named Visited Places, which logs and encrypts users’ location history in Apple Maps, as one such delayed feature.
The DMA requires that features released by a defined list of “gatekeeper” tech giants, which includes Apple, must be interoperable. Essentially, this means competitors must be able to integrate with these features or offer viable alternatives. However, Apple has maintained that granting third parties the level of access required for compliance could compromise privacy and security, a point reiterated by Andeer at the workshop on Monday.
iPhone Mirroring and related features may not be available in the EU
Apple told the WSJ that it is still deciding which features it can’t safely launch in the EU under the DMA and is working to find solutions. However, last month, the French publication Numerama confirmed that iPhone Mirroring — a feature that allows users to control their iPhone directly from their Mac — will still not be made available in the EU with iOS 26, despite being released elsewhere over a year ago.
While Apple hasn’t explicitly confirmed its reason for this, a 2024 white paper did say that iPhone Mirroring was one of the software tools Meta had requested access to, citing the DMA. If accepted, these requests would allow Meta — a company that “has been fined by regulators time and again for privacy violations,” according to Apple — with swathes of sensitive user data. It is also not out of the question that the EU would require Apple to allow Android to create an equivalent mirroring feature, if it were launched in the region.
Differences in the French and US press releases for macOS Tahoe 26 suggest that Live Activities — a feature that displays real-time updates from a nearby iPhone and relies on iPhone Mirroring — also won’t be made available in the region when it is released. macOS technically falls outside the DMA’s scope as its user base is not large enough to be deemed dominant, but Apple may not want to risk the operating system’s inclusion if it can emulate iOS.
Are Apple’s security concerns valid, or an excuse to squash competition?
In the workshop, Andeer said the changes Apple has implemented in the past to comply with the DMA “create real privacy, security, safety risks to our users,” according to the WSJ. Since early 2024, the California-based company has been forced to allow EU users to delete pre-installed apps, make changes to the App Store, and introduce DMA-compliant Apple Intelligence, albeit after a delay.
In response, an EU official said that the European Commission and Apple disagree on the scope of the DMA and potential security risks. A member of the campaign group Open Web Advocacy also argued that the third parties Apple is blocking from developing alternatives to its products on security grounds “might actually offer more effective safeguards.”
Apple’s ongoing battles with the DMA
The DMA has been a point of contention for Apple since its enactment in September 2022. In September 2024, the antitrust watchdog initiated two proceedings under the DMA to push Apple to enhance interoperability between iOS, iPadOS, and third-party devices, and published proposed mitigations in March. Apple formally appealed its requirements last month, again citing privacy and security risks.
In addition, last week, Apple announced a series of changes to its EU App Store, following a €500 million fine for preventing app developers from steering users toward external purchasing options. Penalties for noncompliance with the DMA can be up to 10% of the company’s total worldwide turnover, rising to 20% in cases of repeated infringement
Apple is not always so resistant towards the EU’s demands; the company is introducing energy labels for iPhones and iPads sold in the region.
