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by quitit 635 days ago
They haven't given a detailed reason, but pundits who have paid more attention to the DMA suggest that it's because the feature does not allow 3rd parties to offer the same integration.

While the DMA's changes to the app store received the most publicity, the DMA mandates for modularity for any feature where a home-advantage could be granted by the gate keeper. Since features like AI and screen mirroring are already established markets with competitors, Apple offering these as built in functions could be interpreted as actions against the DMA unless they offer a way for others to tap into it via APIs.

However this is just a guess. There is a cynical rhetoric that it's to punish the EU but this is a pretty flimsy idea since it's clear that Apple is relying on these new features to propel upgrades to M series macs and new iPhones. Currently there exists no tentpole feature for people in the EU to upgrade. The other reason is that it's pretty tenuous to think that the EU masses will rise up against the EC because they don't have screen mirroring or image playground.

1 comments

This is an interesting one because, to my knowledge, and unlike alternative App Stores etc on iOS, there’s surely nothing stopping an Android phone manufacturer from developing a Mac app to offer equivalent functionality?

I’m unsure whether the DMA compels them to provide specific APIs beyond the ability to connect to arbitrary devices and draw to the screen, and it’s maybe a little bit concerning if it does. My understanding was that nothing in the DMA specifically compelled Apple to create e.g. MarketplaceKit, it’s just that the alternative would be to open up iOS far more than Apple is willing to do.

I can install a whole number of AppStore or opensource apps that allow me to access other machines graphically. I really don't see why accessing the GUI on an iPhone should be treated any differently than accessing the GUI on a terminal server or an android or linux box or something.. The argument doesn't really make sense to me..
While your guess is as good as mine. I can see that the screen sharing feature goes beyond what is currently possible with 3rd party mirroring tools, including apple's own earlier tools. For example right clicking brings up extensive contextual menus that aren't accessible in iOS, and I can see these also leverage the continuity features between the platforms.