Apple warns EU over Android access

Apple told European Union regulators on May 13 that draft measures requiring Google to open key Android capabilities to rival AI providers would weaken privacy, security and device performance, aligning itself with Google in a live Digital Markets Act fight. The European Commission said on April 27 that its preliminary findings would require Google to give third parties effective access and interoperability with Android features that let AI services act across apps. Google, meanwhile, has been recasting Android as what it calls an “intelligence system,” rolling out Gemini features across phones, Chrome and other services. The dispute now centers on who gets to control the software layer that can trigger actions on a user’s device — and under what rules. ### What exactly is Brussels asking Google to open? The European Commission said on April 27 that the draft measures are meant to ensure “competing AI services” can interact with apps on Android devices and carry out tasks such as sending an email, ordering food or sharing a photo. The Commission said those capabilities are now largely reserved for Google’s own AI offerings on Android phones and tablets. The same draft would also let users activate competing AI services more easily, including through a custom wake word, according to the Commission’s announcement. Interested parties were invited to comment through a public consultation that ran until May 13. ### What did Apple say to the EU? Apple said the proposed measures would create risks to privacy, security and safety, according to Reuters’ account of the company’s submission to the Commission. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu) Reuters reported that Apple echoed Google’s criticism of the measures in comments filed on May 13. Apple has made similar arguments in its own DMA disputes. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu) In a September 24, 2025 statement about the EU’s Digital Markets Act, the company said mandated changes can create “new avenues for malware, fraud and scams” and can compromise its ability to protect users. Apple’s filing in the Google case extends that position to AI access on Android. ### How is Google changing Android at the same time? (money.usnews.com) Google said on May 12 that “Android transitions from an operating system into an intelligence system” as it adds Gemini Intelligence to devices. In that announcement, Google said Gemini would automate multi-step tasks, use Chrome to summarize content and fill out forms, and roll out first on the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer. (apple.com) Mindy Brooks, Google’s vice president of product management, said Gemini Intelligence would later expand across other Android devices including watches, cars, glasses and laptops. Google also said it had spent months tuning multi-step automation on the Galaxy S26 and Pixel 10 in food delivery and rideshare apps. ### Where does Chrome fit into this fight? Chrome already includes browser-managed AI features built around Gemini Nano, according to Google’s developer documentation. (blog.google) Google says model downloads are handled automatically and are triggered on demand when a built-in AI API is first called, rather than preinstalled for every user by default. Google’s enterprise support pages also say Gemini in Chrome can use the context of the current webpage, with user permission, to provide responses, and that administrators can control availability through policy settings. (blog.google) That matters because Chrome is one of the places where Google is extending Gemini from a chatbot into a tool that can act on what a user is viewing. ### Why does the case focus on actions, not just answers? (developer.chrome.com) The Commission’s examples are about execution, not search. In its April 27 notice, Brussels said rival AI services should be able to use Android to send messages, place orders and share content through users’ chosen apps. Google’s own product announcements describe the same category of behavior from the other direction. (support.google.com) The company said Gemini Intelligence will navigate multi-step tasks across apps, while Chrome’s AI tools can summarize pages and help fill out forms. The overlap is the point of the dispute: the regulator wants those action pathways opened to rivals, while Apple and Google say wider access raises security and privacy risks. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu) ### What happens next in the EU process? The European Commission said the Android draft measures are part of specification proceedings it opened against Google on January 27, 2026 under the Digital Markets Act. The consultation on the preliminary findings closed on May 13, and the Commission said a non-confidential summary of the findings and envisaged measures is available on its consultation page. (blog.google) Google’s next step will come in that DMA proceeding, where Brussels will decide whether to turn the draft into binding specifications for Android interoperability. Any final decision will involve the Commission and Google directly, with Apple and other respondents having already put their positions on the record by the May 13 deadline. (digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu)