Apple has spent the past year and a half dealing with new government rules, releasing new products, and changing how its platforms work. These changes are significant because they mark a shift: Apple is now required to allow more competition in parts of its ecosystem where it previously had complete control.

What's Happening in Europe

In January 2024, Apple announced changes to iPhone software, Safari (its web browser), and the App Store specifically for users in the European Union. These changes came because of a new regulation called the Digital Markets Act, which is designed to ensure fair competition on major tech platforms.

The changes included allowing alternative web browsers to run independently from Apple's engine, letting developers use their own app stores alongside Apple's official store, and adjusting how much Apple charges developers in Europe.

However, these initial changes were not enough. By June 2025, Apple had to make additional adjustments to its App Store rules in response to an antitrust order. If Apple did not comply, it faced fines of approximately 50 million euros per day.

This pattern — a first wave of changes, then a second wave pushing further — shows that regulators and Apple are still negotiating the exact rules. It is not a situation where Apple checked all the boxes once and moved on.

For app developers, this creates a challenge. Those building software for European users now have to track different rules for Europe versus the rest of the world. If you build an app that operates globally, you are essentially managing two different business environments under the same software.

New Products: The iPhone 16e

In February 2025, Apple released the iPhone 16e, a less expensive version of its current flagship iPhone. It has the same processing power and AI features as the standard iPhone 16, but at a lower price point.

This product targets people using older iPhones who want an upgrade without paying premium prices. Apple is clearly trying to compete in countries like India and Southeast Asia, where less expensive Android phones are extremely popular.

Software Updates Arrive

In September 2025, Apple released new versions of its core software platforms — iOS for iPhones, macOS for computers, and watchOS for watches. These updates included redesigned apps and new features built on Apple's machine learning technology, which the company announced at its developer conference in 2024.

For app makers, the question with any major update is whether Apple will stop supporting older versions of its software, which means older apps might stop working well. Those details will become clearer as developers begin upgrading their apps over the coming months.

Parental Controls and Safety

In June 2025, Apple expanded tools to help parents monitor what their children do online. The new tools allow parents to set more specific limits on which apps their children can use and when.

These changes are happening because governments around the world — particularly the United Kingdom — are requiring tech companies to give parents better tools to manage their children's online activity. Apple is building this feature in part to meet those legal requirements.

Watching how this has evolved over time, what is striking is that the technology has become far more detailed and flexible — the tools my younger child used during his teens were far more precise than anything available a decade earlier — yet the actual decision-making burden on parents has not changed. A more powerful tool does not make the judgment calls easier.

AppleCare One: Simpler Insurance

In July 2025, Apple introduced a new service called AppleCare One. Previously, if you owned multiple Apple devices, you had to buy separate insurance plans for each one. Now, you can buy one plan that covers all your Apple devices.

This change makes it simpler and less expensive for people who own multiple Apple products — for example, an iPhone and a laptop — to protect their devices against damage or problems. It is part of Apple's broader strategy of bundling different services together.

Connecting the Pieces

Each of these announcements fits into a recognisable category — new regulations to follow, new products to sell, software updates, safety features, and simplified services. Together, they show Apple doing two things at once: adapting to government rules that require it to be more open, while also expanding its business into new markets and bundling its services together more tightly.

The most important piece for the tech industry is what is happening in Europe. We have seen similar situations before. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Microsoft faced legal pressure over how it bundled its web browser with Windows. That pressure changed not just how Windows worked, but the entire competitive landscape for web browsers and the internet itself. The situation with Apple is different — Apple's power in phones works differently than Microsoft's power in desktop computers — but the basic idea is the same: when a powerful company is forced to let competitors reach customers more easily, the entire industry shifts in unpredictable ways.

Europe's rules are not finished yet. Apple and regulators are still in active negotiation about where exactly the lines should be drawn. For developers, the safest approach is to plan for European rules to keep changing, and to build their apps and businesses in a way that can adapt to those changes. Other countries around the world are watching what happens in Europe closely, so the rules that emerge there may influence rules everywhere else.