The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which targets so-called “gatekeepers,” aims to make it easier for consumers to switch among such platform-specific features as browsers, media players, messaging apps, and app stores. Despite being squarely targeted by the legislation, Apple responded to it before it took effect, making changes to iOS, Safari, and the App Store to comply.
It marked the second major capitulation the company has made to EU legislation. Last year, after arguing against rules that would have it ditch its Lightning connector for USB-C, Apple finally made the switch in the iPhone 15. While it may have done so reluctantly, it did so globally and in ways that benefited its overall platform portfolio. These included standardizing connectors across its major computing platforms, gaining access to a broader range of peripherals, and enabling faster data transfer speeds. With Lightning originally debuting over a decade ago on the iPhone 5, the legislation likely did little more than slightly speed up what Apple was planning to do anyway.
