iOS and MacOS 26: Which functions Apple initially blocked in the EU

Apple users in the European Economic Area (EEA) have to be prepared for the fact that they only receive certain functions later or not at all. Before that, the group’s lawyers warned at an event of the EU Commission in Brussels on Monday. The interoperability requirements of the Digital Market Act (DMA) could lead to new data protection and security risks, emphasized Apple again.

“We had to make the decision to delay the introduction of products and functions for our customers in the EU announced this month,” said Apple lawyer Kyle Ander on the second DMA-Enforcement workshop. However, the company is looking for ways to bring it to the EEA market.

Three functions are missing in the EEA

Specifically, it is apparently about three functions in the IOS 26 and MacOS 26 operating systems, which were shown on a presentation film. This includes the innovations announced for Apple Maps: In the future, the map service automatically presents a list of the places that the user visited (with his iPhone). And the card app should learn preferred pendulum routes and then warn it independently of traffic jams and propose alternatives.

Both functions are not available in the beta version of iOS 26 if an EEA account is used. Apple has already announced the regional restriction for the places visited: The function will initially only come to North America, Australia, Malaysia, Great Britain and Switzerland.

In addition, the announced integration of iPhone live activities is missing in the EEA, which can automatically appear in the MacOS 26 Mac menu bar. This is obviously linked to the iPhone Mirroring, which was already introduced in 2024, which Apple has not yet unlocked for EEA users. Here, too, the group already referred to European competition law. The remote maintenance function from iOS 18 remains blocked in the EEA, with which iPhones and iPads can be controlled from afar. This is practical to give family support for family members.

New functions with regards from Brussels

Brussels has already specified Apple what functions and interfaces of the group have to open in its operating systems for other providers. Accordingly, the Digital Markets Act also ensures new functions in iOS 26, including support for the Standard Wi-Fi Aware and a path to transfer ESIMs from the iPhone to Android for the first time. In general, the change between the two large mobile platforms should become much easier and more convenient for users in the future. Apple claims to work with Google.