Apple May Ditch AirDrop on EU iPhones Amid Escalating Legal Battle
It's another tale of breaking up Apple's ecosystem in Europe.
AirDrop is one of those Apple perks that just works, but only if you’re inside the Apple bubble. Want to send a photo to an Android phone or a Windows laptop? Tough luck. The feature remains locked to Apple’s ecosystem, and that exclusivity is exactly what’s under fire.
Enter the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), a regulation aimed at reining in Big Tech by forcing companies like Apple to open up their once-exclusive tools. But Apple, never one to hand over the keys easily, is pushing back. And if the pressure mounts, it’s reportedly willing to pull features like AirDrop from European iPhones entirely.
It sounds dramatic, but this isn’t just a threat. New features like iPhone-to-Mac screen mirroring are already unavailable in the EU. AirDrop could be next, with automatic AirPods pairing or even Apple Watch sales possibly on the chopping block.
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Apple argues that enforced interoperability risks “a worse user experience.” In other words, if asked to open the door, they might just shut it entirely. The EU, on the other hand, believes Apple’s walled garden has grown too exclusive, limiting competition and consumer choice.
These regulatory tensions have been brewing for a while. Earlier this year, regulators fined Apple $570 million for DMA violations, and they also fined Meta $200 million. While Google is currently under investigation for its dominance in search and digital ads.
Louis Eriakha
Apple’s standoff with the EU captures a bigger dilemma: how do we balance fair competition with seamless user experience? Right now, it seems neither side is backing down.
If AirDrop really vanishes in the EU, it won’t just be a feature loss, it’ll be a sign of what’s to come. As regulators push for fairness and Big Tech pushes back to protect its ecosystems, users are caught in the middle. The real question isn’t whether Apple can adapt to Europe’s rules, it’s whether Europe can shape tech policy without breaking the tools people actually rely on.
