'For too long, Apple has operated a walled garden around its products': The EU forces Apple to open its closed system to third parties
'For too long, Apple has operated a walled garden around its products': The EU forces Apple to open its closed system to third parties
I was so hyped when the EU pressured Apple into allowing external software on Apple devices.
Apple killed that hype making the change EU only, problem is I’m encapsulated in the walled garden with an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Air Tags, HomePods.
Thinking of getting a second phone Android based to partially-escape the garden but if I ditch my iPhone all hell will break loose network wise.
I was you up until 3 months ago. I went nuclear and focused on the more open source side of android and have been so much happier for it. Sold everything to afford the changes.
Well, they did get them to switch to USB-C, so I'm not holding my breath, but I do hope that this will lead to more interoperability. I'm tired of Apple making Android/non-Apple users feel like second-class citizens.
I have to agree. Switching to USB-C is a big step, but I doubt Apple will become more interoperable unless they are forced to.
I still don’t think that one was actually the EU’s doing. Macs got USB C before most PCs, iPads had it for a long time before iPhones, and iPhones switched over 10 years after Apple announced lightning saying it would be their connector “for the next decade”
Apple got an special exemption the last time the EU standardised the port to Micro-USB.
The writing would have been on the wall for them. Especially as thunderbolt 3+ uses the USB-C connector, there was no guarantee the EU would give them exception again, and lightning is almost certainly not designed to handle the wattage needed to charge a Mac.
But otherwise, if not compelled, I doubt that Apple would have carried it over to the mobile devices. The timing is fortuitous, but likely because Apple has a little leeway before the EU forbade their devices/fined them for not following the law.
Even then, for whatever reason, a (grantedly cheap) 3,5mm->USB-C adapter my dad bought didn't work at all on his iPhone while it works just fine on my Android
Most every major company tries to build a walled garden. Apple does so via apps and services, services like netflix do by making sure you can’t watch shows on any other service (arr!), or even something as simple as cordless tools that have proprietary batteries and chargers where it gets really expensive to have to buy different batteries.
I have no doubt the EU won't have much mercy for American corporations going* forward.
My phone REALLY wants me to type gong. Gong gong gong gong gong.
Go ahead, this is a safe space. Get it out of your system.
bro be like
Gong gong, gonging gong gong!
Destroys their entire business model 😂
Their entire business model has been to focus on systems that lock people in and exclude people who are out. None of this is done for security or as a means for the best possible customer experience. It's done for the sole purpose of forcing income they couldn't achieve with innovation alone. I've heard so many tech reviewers and even my own personal friends who say they would love to switch if only to try something else. They say they'd switch today if their friends, family and coworkers wouldn't get mad at them. Apples only real innovation over the past ten years has been built in social pressure.
This is why the only Apple product I've owned was a free iPad. It feels claustrophobic to be trapped in their ecosystem.
Trying to get my family to use signal and its like pulling teeth. "Dont you want to be on the same messaging app as everyone", "sure but you're the one with a problem"
Mate, I only have a problem because of you!
Maybe Nintendo, Sony and MS will be next?
I want a 3rd party store on all my consoles, why can’t I?
Finally. We all about to see better prices and more features. If this ends in lower app store fees, its a massive win for every app company in the world!
Hopefully this actually leads to something lasting, but I don't have high hopes considering how Europe is getting dragged atm
I mean the EU made them allow app stores but Apple made a complete mockery of them by requiring their rubber stamp and charging "only" 27% fee and the EU is just letting them get away with that so yeah, I have little faith.
Huge win!
It’s a shame Epic lost this lawsuit in the US because “just switch to Android”
There should be a porn movie with that headline
Not the biggest fan of this tbh. People who want open standards should just not buy iOS devices. It's not that hard.
Except it is that hard because companies collude and work to drive the competition out of business.
This is such a lazy argument, it doesn't add any kind of value and it shows you don't care about how other people are treated. Please stop doing this.
you don’t care about how other people are treated
True, I do not care about how apple users are treated. They have - voluntarily - decided to buy a device that is known to be anti-consumer.
If we talk about restricting stuff like rent, food prices etc, so essentials, I'm on board. But Apple? Nah. Nobody forces you to shell out that much money for a smartphone.
You say that until Google realises that there is no other viable alternative and so they can do the same thing since it's not like there is another option.
I know you ca try and install other OSes, but that isn't an option for many, as many manufacturers make acquiring root access impossible.
You answer is basically a big "go fuck yourself" to everyone who bought an iphone before they knew about the things Apple did to keep users looked in. Same goes for the acquiring root access on an android phone.
People are not born with knowledge.
You say that until Google realises that there is no other viable alternative and so they can do the same thing since it’s not like there is another option.
Not entirely. I'm fairly sure that, if google decides to lock down pixel devices, the graphene team would evaluate other devices that are more open. The reason they recommend pixels is because they are open, not because they are big google fans. Graphene DOES run on other devices aswell, it's just not officially tested or supported. And there are other devices with unlockable bootloaders, most noteably older oneplus devices and fairphones.
You answer is basically a big “go fuck yourself” to everyone who bought an iphone before they knew about the things Apple did to keep users looked in
No, my answer is a big "go fuck yourself" to everyone who voluntarily decides to stick with apple devices despite knowing of their practices. Let's be honest for just one second: Barely any consumer is so tied into an operating system that it would prevent them from switching. What do most people do with their phones? Listen to music, have a messenger, maybe check emails, browsing - that's it. And you can do that on any other phone. The amount of people that are apple power users that use applications that only exist in the apple ecosystem is abysmal and largely irrelevant in this discussion.
Same goes for the acquiring root access on an android phone. People are not born with knowledge.
True. Neither was I. But in 2025, we have the internet and you can read up on almost anything imagineable. If I wanted to learn about astrophysics, I could find plenty of videos or resources about it. If I want to learn about japanese history during the sengoku period, there are a lot of resources about that. And if I want to learn how to unlock the bootloader of a phone and install a custom rom, not surprisingly, there are resources for that.
This "People are not born with knowledge" argument is so stupid - nobody is born with it, the problem is just that most people are too lazy to learn about their possibilites to break free from oppressing corporate conglomerates. And THAT'S something I have an issue with.
Companies that do anti-consumer practices shouldn't think it's the norm. The more we fuck Apple, the less other companies think that it's OK to fuck consumers.
I completely agree with you. So many phones are business tools. Forcing your employer to use the App Store is good. Side loading fly by night bullshit is a risk and lack of oversight the world just doesn’t need. If you want that stuff get an android.
This is very bad. Their walled garden is perfect for the young, elderly, and stupid.
Hopefully some competitor arrives to replace them.
Walled gardens are not good for anyone.
If but perfect you mean perfectly exploitative, sure. The walled garden issue has nothing to do with ease of use my friend; in fact, the whole point is to do the opposite - make anything outside the wall impossibly hard to access or use.
Apple is free to sell phones where walled gardens are allowed. You're also free to stay in the walled garden, Apple lied to you.
Yeah because using Android is so difficult
No one is forcing you do use apps outside of the app store. It's about choice.
If such a competitor emerged they'd not be able to trade in the EU, given the size of the EU economy that ain't happening.
It is not the walled garden that makes it easy, I mean, only because you open up doesn’t mean that your costumer still can buy only apple and it just works..
You're right, they are like a bike with training wheels, helmet, and pads.
I thought that “walled-garden” was for security and privacy in the case of Apple? I always relied on them for that.
You can certainly argue that more control makes iPhones safer, since its harder to get malicious software on the phone. But Apple is also abusing their control for their own gain.
You could also argue that locking you in a room would be safer than letting you walk freely out in the world. But I don't we want that either.
I dunno, are meals provided in the locked room? The world is a pretty fucking awful place right now.
The security approach was what first drew me to Apple back in like 2005. The whole focus on proprietary software that resulted in practically zero malware was definitely worth me having to do file-type conversions on documents and all that crap to keep up with people on Windows. And I loved it. And I kept adding every device and loving how seamless they all interact with each other.
But then there’s that shadow side you refer to. The gradual dumbing down of software, the constant hand-holding. The walled garden began to feel like a lock-in.
My last new Mac purchase was in 2011. I still use that machine. But I was not getting security updates and other things I use were leaving me behind so I decided to give Linux a try. Chose Ubuntu and the hardware was suddenly like new again. Apple makes beautiful machines but waste them on some increasingly basic software. My Linux-run Macs have made me fall in love with computers all over again.
If this somehow results in me being able to run like Graphene on my iPhone in a few years, or even connect my Apple Watch to a non-Apple phone, I will be pretty excited.
If people want a phone that acts like an android, just buy an android.
Why are people trying to make iPhones into androids?
Well, but it is just as hard to find exploits for white heads, and this leads to open exploits that last for ages, even if actively used by black heads.
There is no security by obfuscation
You still have the freedom to not use alternative app stores.
I don’t get the argument. It’s not like you are forced to buy iPhones, there a plenty of brands available. According to recent data iOS is 30% of the market while android is almost 70% (in Europe). I used android phones for most of my life. I tried to install alternative OS few time but my banking apps all refused to execute. There were always plenty of apps that were forbidden to remove (Facebook, Samsung applications,…). Then 4 years ago I bought an iPhone. No preinstalled shitty news app, Facebook, etc. Was even able to uninstall the default apps that I do not use. I feel to have much more freedom than before. Apple is not perfect by any means but it’s far from being a prison.
Nope, it was so they could take the 30% cut of every penny that is spent on one of their platforms, and also so that it would be extremely inconvenient to leave their ecosystem since doing so would mean leaving behind most of your data.
Its primary utility is shoring up their image as the brand where 'everything just works' and op/interop is a thoughtless zero friction process. Compromise that and you lose normie, bigtime. So everyone gets locked in...and you get the walled prison basketball court
That's the lie they tell you, yeah.
You’re getting downvoted but how much would you like to bet that once the walled garden is down/third party apps can be installed; we’ll suddenly see “security related apps” installed by some EU law.
If I sound paranoid there’s already an app on Android that scans the content of your photo library (iPhones have this too but it’s only enabled during parental controls, Androids is stealth-enabled 24/7).
It's called something android core, you can uninstall it, but it may comeback each update.
Honestly, fuck security. I want every app on my phone to phone home to other malicious app stores with all my personal data. I want them to install backdoor VPNs that tunnel all my data to a man in the middle. I want them to allow me to jailbreak my phone so I can install permanent rootkits, that way adversaries can reload their botnets even after I factory reset my phone.
On the real, i appreciate Apple for what they've done so far. If this happens, ill have to move back to GrapheneOS. Which is fine, but its just so much more time that I have to spend on making the phone work versus working on the phone.
We should force the entire EU to mandate GrapheneOS on all phones. Well see how much they enjoy the experience.
As a new user of GrapheneOS, I have yet to see the difference with regular Android except that it's way more secure.
As a tinkerer, stuff like Linux and Graphene are right up my alley. But as a dude with a job and family I just don’t have the time anymore. Apple is far from perfect but their security/privacy efforts are the lesser of the evils for almost no extra time/thinking required from me so they’re the ideal option for now. Really hope all these laws don’t muck that up.
I kinda agree with your sentiment. If I'm spending $1000+ on a device, I want to truly own it and do whatever I want with it. Unfortunately people have gotten very used to companies like Apple telling them what they can and can't do, and Apple artificially restricting things (like giving first-party apps special permissions that third-party apps can't get) so they make more money. It's not great that this is so widespread now. At least there's people like Louis Rossman that still care about these things.
If the manufacturer wants to have an "easy mode" where they limit what can be done, like what Apple does today, that's totally fine. Just don't force it onto everyone.