If Apple opens up this, you’ll be able to use a cross-platform digital wallet of your choice, making it easier to switch smartphones. You can also use your digital car key with the automaker’s cross-platform app.
Cloud gaming
The U.S. Department of Justice claims that Apple is boycotting cloud gaming services and apps because it believes they pose a threat to the “high-performance local computing” that differentiates the iPhone from competitors. The idea is that if you move the processing to the cloud, the hardware no longer matters. All you need is a fast internet connection and a cheap device (like a cheap Android phone).
The lawsuit also criticizes Apple for insisting that cloud streaming games be submitted as standalone applications for its approval and forcing the cloud games it allows to use its proprietary payment system.
Perhaps in a pre-emptive move, Apple announced that it will open the App Store for game streaming apps and services in January.
We’ll soon see services like Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce Now get their own iPhone apps, but how subscription and gaming services within those apps will work on the iPhone is unclear.
If developers could create a cloud app that ran cross-platform, it would significantly reduce their costs and make more games available on the iPhone compared to Apple’s current system.
A better smartwatch
Apple wants you to buy an Apple Watch to go with your iPhone. To this end, the lawsuit states that Apple only allows third-party smartwatches to access a subset of the application programming interfaces (APIs) that the Apple Watch has access to.
When Low Power Mode is on, only Apple Watch can reply to messages, accept calendar invitations, or stay connected to iPhone.
Without these limitations, using a third-party smartwatch on your iPhone may lead to a better experience.
Apple Watch for Android
The perennial champ of all best smartwatch guides, including ours, is the Apple Watch. This great wearable device has all sorts of neat integrations with Apple products and services, but you have to have an iPhone to use the Apple Watch.
The lawsuit notes that this makes it harder for people who own both phones to give up their iPhones (because they need a new phone) and a new watch), but it also boosted iPhone sales. I’d love to use my Apple Watch with my Android phone, but of all the possibilities this set offers, that’s probably the least likely.
super app
The lawsuit repeatedly mentions Apple’s alleged suppression of “super apps.” Super apps offer multiple features or mini-apps, so they may combine an app store, messaging capabilities, and a payment system (such as WeChat).
The lawsuit claims that super apps benefit both users and developers by reducing reliance on the iPhone, making it easier for users to switch to another smartphone, and creating a homogenous experience across platforms. The EU has already forced Apple to allow third-party app stores into Europe, among other changes, so it’s possible it will make some concessions on that front.
Ultimately, Apple will continue to fight it out in court, and we may never see some of these proposed changes. Apple said in an emailed statement: “This lawsuit threatens our identity and the principles that make Apple products unique… and we will respond aggressively.”
After winning most of its battles with Epic, we don’t think Apple will win. But many of the changes will be welcome to the average iPhone user. Ironically, they might even make the iPhone more attractive to people who currently use Android phones.