The European Union’s Digital Markets Act could soon force Apple to introduce AirPlay alternatives in iOS 27, marking another round of region-specific feature changes that would likely benefit only European users. This potential move reflects an emerging pattern: the EU uses its regulatory power to reshape Apple’s platform, while users elsewhere watch from the sidelines.
Key Takeaways
- The EU Digital Markets Act may require Apple to support AirPlay alternatives in iOS 27, potentially as early as 2026.
- Apple has already deployed over 600 new APIs and alternative browser engine support across the EU since March 2024.
- EU users can now choose third-party contactless payment apps and alternative app marketplaces as defaults.
- Apple has warned that DMA compliance creates a protection gap between EU and non-EU users.
- The US and over 100 countries outside the EU still lack access to alternative iPhone app stores.
What the Digital Markets Act Has Already Changed
Apple is no stranger to DMA-driven overhauls. Starting in March 2024, the company deployed sweeping changes across the 27 EU countries, including more than 600 new APIs, support for alternative browser engines, and options for third-party payment processing. These modifications fundamentally altered how developers interact with iOS and how users manage their devices. EU customers can now designate a third-party contactless payment app or an alternative app marketplace as their default, granting them control that users elsewhere simply do not have.
This regulatory pressure has reshaped Apple’s development roadmap. Rather than a unified global platform, iOS now operates as a fractured ecosystem where feature availability depends on geography. Apple itself acknowledged this tension, warning that the changes required by the DMA would create an inevitable gap between the protections available to EU users and those available to users outside the bloc.
Why AirPlay Alternatives Could Be Next
The logic behind forcing AirPlay alternatives mirrors the reasoning behind previous DMA mandates: interoperability and choice. AirPlay, Apple’s proprietary wireless audio and video protocol, currently locks users into Apple’s hardware ecosystem. A device maker cannot easily stream to non-Apple speakers or displays without workarounds. The DMA’s core principle is that gatekeeping like this—even when technically competent—violates fair competition rules if the company holds market dominance.
Requiring Apple to open AirPlay to third-party implementations would theoretically allow Sonos, Google, Amazon, and other manufacturers to build native support for streaming directly from iPhones and iPads. This would fragment Apple’s ecosystem advantage but align with EU competition doctrine. Whether Apple will voluntarily implement this in iOS 27 or whether Brussels will need to formally demand it remains unclear, but the trajectory suggests it is plausible.
The Regional Fragmentation Problem
Here is the uncomfortable reality: if AirPlay alternatives arrive in iOS 27, they will almost certainly arrive only for EU users. Apple has demonstrated this pattern repeatedly. Features that comply with DMA requirements are gated to the 27 EU countries, leaving the rest of the world—including the US, Canada, Australia, and Japan—on the older, more restricted version. The company has stated explicitly that it does not permit alternative iPhone app stores in the United States or in more than 100 countries outside the EU.
This creates a two-tier iPhone experience that will only grow more pronounced. A teenager in Berlin can choose their default payment processor and app store; a teenager in New York cannot. An EU user will eventually choose their AirPlay alternative; a US user will remain locked into Apple’s system. This is not accidental fragmentation—it is regulatory fragmentation by design, and it raises uncomfortable questions about whether the EU’s approach, however well-intentioned, is actually serving consumers globally or simply creating a privileged market for European users.
What This Means for Apple’s Platform Strategy
Apple faces a genuine dilemma. Implementing AirPlay alternatives only in the EU is technically feasible but operationally messy. The company must maintain separate code paths, test different feature sets, and manage user expectations across regions. Implementing the change globally would undermine the company’s ecosystem argument—that tight integration is a feature, not a bug—but it would also simplify engineering and eliminate the perception of unfairness.
The company’s public stance suggests it views these changes as unwelcome impositions. Apple has repeatedly framed DMA compliance as a burden that reduces security and privacy protections for all users, not just Europeans. Whether this argument holds water is debatable, but it signals that Apple is unlikely to voluntarily adopt AirPlay alternatives before being forced to do so.
Will AirPlay Alternatives Actually Matter?
Even if the DMA forces AirPlay alternatives into iOS 27, the real-world impact depends on adoption. Third-party manufacturers must invest in native iOS support, users must discover and trust these alternatives, and the alternatives must work reliably. AirPlay, for all its limitations, is seamless and mature. A new open standard could be fragmented, buggy, or slower to market. The EU can mandate interoperability, but it cannot mandate excellence.
The broader question is whether feature parity between iOS and Android is what consumers actually want. Android has always allowed third-party audio protocols and wireless standards. This has not made Android the dominant mobile platform, nor has it created a thriving ecosystem of non-Google audio solutions. Forcing Apple to adopt Android’s approach may satisfy regulators without meaningfully improving user choice.
FAQ
Has Apple already implemented changes from the Digital Markets Act?
Yes. Since March 2024, Apple has deployed over 600 new APIs, alternative browser engine support, and options for third-party payment processing and app marketplaces across the 27 EU countries. These changes are live and active for EU users today.
Will AirPlay alternatives come to the US if Apple implements them in the EU?
Not necessarily. Apple has restricted previous DMA-driven features to EU users only. The company has stated it does not permit alternative iPhone app stores in the US or in more than 100 countries outside the EU, suggesting a similar regional approach is likely for AirPlay alternatives.
Why is the EU forcing Apple to make these changes?
The EU’s Digital Markets Act targets companies it designates as having unfair market power. The law requires these companies to allow interoperability and third-party access to their platforms. Apple’s control over AirPlay, app distribution, and payment processing all fall within the DMA’s scope.
The reality is that iOS 27 may become a test case for how far the EU is willing to push Apple—and how far Apple is willing to bend before breaking its ecosystem model entirely. For now, EU users have already gained features that the rest of the world cannot access. AirPlay alternatives would deepen that divide further, creating a genuinely different iPhone experience based purely on geography.
Edited by the All Things Geek team.
Source: Tom's Guide
