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Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Driven by the EU’s Digital Markets Act, Apple’s upcoming iOS 27 update will reportedly support third-party media-casting protocols, allowing users to set alternatives, such as Google Cast, as the default.
- This shift could eliminate the need for TV makers to pay Apple AirPlay licensing fees and will make cheaper Google Cast-supported streaming sticks highly compatible with iPhones.
- While the changes are designed to comply with EU rules, it remains unclear whether Apple will restrict this media-casting feature to the EU or roll it out globally.
Thanks to legislation passed by the EU under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple has had to slowly open up its walled garden, even if just in the EU. The company began allowing alternative app stores on iOS, allowing emulators on the App Store, and diluted its anti-steering rules for developers. There are more changes in the pipeline, with the next big one possibly opening iOS to alternative media-casting protocols, paving the way for Google Cast support on the iPhone.
Bloomberg reports that the upcoming iOS 27 update will enable the iPhone to support AirPlay alternatives by default to meet the EU’s requirements under the DMA. Apple is said to be building support for third-party media-casting protocols, which would allow outside services like Google Cast to be set by users as the default solution for beaming video, photos, and audio from an Apple device to a Google Cast-supported speaker or TV.
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The report does not mention whether this upcoming support would be restricted to the EU or expanded globally. Most of Apple’s changes under the DMA are restricted to the EU. Still, some changes have spread globally too — either directly by Apple (like allowing emulators on the App Store globally), or to comply with DMA-like regulations in non-EU countries. If we’re allowed to speculate, this one might stay restricted to the EU, but we’re crossing our fingers on wider availability. Don’t get too hopeful, though, as Apple often resorts to malicious compliance when it comes to opening up its ecosystem.
Apple’s move to open the iPhone to alternative media-casting protocols could shake up the TV and streaming stick market. For starters, it would significantly reduce the need to bundle AirPlay — TV makers have to pay Apple licensing fees and meet strict hardware requirements to include it, and they wouldn’t need to do so anymore, while still serving their iPhone user base.
This move would also be a boon for cheaper streaming sticks and boxes that already support Google Cast, as iPhone users can now use them to beam content from their iPhone to non-AirPlay displays. In short, Android TV devices will work better with an iPhone.
For users who don’t use Google Cast, Apple’s move is unlikely to include the Miracast open standard. Still, the ability to use AirPlay and Google Cast from the iPhone will make it a better device for beaming content than Android phones, which usually support Google Cast and/or Miracast but will likely never officially support Apple’s proprietary AirPlay standard.
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