Apple Explains Why MAC Users in the EU Can't Use Iphone Mirroring

Posted4 months agoActive3 months ago

SoKamil

18 points

15 comments

thurrott.comTechstory

heatednegative

Debate

80/100

AppleEU RegulationsIphone Mirroring

Key topics

Apple

EU Regulations

Iphone Mirroring

Apple explains why Mac users in the EU can't use iPhone Mirroring, sparking debate about the company's motivations and the impact of EU regulations on its features.

Snapshot generated from the HN discussion

Discussion Activity

Active discussion

First comment

29m

Peak period

0-6h

Avg / period

4.7

Comment distribution14 data points

Loading chart...

Based on 14 loaded comments

Key moments

01Story posted
Sep 17, 2025 at 8:23 AM EDT
4 months ago
Step 01
02First comment
Sep 17, 2025 at 8:52 AM EDT
29m after posting
Step 02
03Peak activity
12 comments in 0-6h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03
04Latest activity
Sep 21, 2025 at 1:17 PM EDT
3 months ago
Step 04

Generating AI Summary...

Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns

Discussion (15 comments)

Showing 14 comments of 15

supermatt

4 months ago

1 reply

If Apple do not want to provide iPhone mirroring, then so be it.

But since it is obvious the capability exists, they should allow other vendors the permissions needed to offer similar functionality with their own technology. These companies have been requesting this for years for their own mirroring apps, long before Apple introduced iPhone mirroring (long before even airplay).

iPhone mirroring is not innovation when you simply take your competitors product ideas and then block them from competing by giving yourself exclusive access to the very features they have been requesting for over 15 years...

Apple need not worry about being forced to "tweak the feature" if users are given the option to use an alternative solution on equal terms. Unless, of course, the aim is simply to stifle competition and keep users locked in through anti-consumer practices..

gumby271

4 months ago

1 reply

I don't know this mirroring feature too well, but what's missing that a third party couldn't implement the same thing for android? Like scrcpy works. Its not as polished, but thats a ui/presentation issue. Are there features in macos that enable iOS mirroring that only Apple can use?

supermatt

4 months ago

1 reply

I haven’t used it much (I am in the EU) so I can’t give an extensive list. But a few I noticed when I was in UK:

  - You can initiate from the MacBook.
  - you don’t need to wake and unlock the phone manually 
  - the phone itself stays physically locked
  - drag/drop

Basically you can keep it in your pocket/bag instead of physically holding and unlocking it.

Mirroring aside there’s things like remote copy/paste, continuity with desktop apps, etc.

Edit: Wow, downvotes for what exactly? Because I own an iPhone and MacBook or because I dislike Apples shitty business practices?

tonyedgecombe

4 months ago

1 reply

I can see why Apple might be reluctant to open this technology up to third parties, it would be a nightmare to keep it secure.

supermatt

4 months ago

1 reply

Why should that be apples decision to make? There are many software vendors with much better security track records than apple.

tpmoney

4 months ago

2 replies

Because Apple’s reputation (and customer trust in the ecosystem) depends on their security posture, and the less headlines that involve 3rd party applications on your computer being able to read the iPhone clipboard while the phone remains locked the better?

Also because people should have the choice to buy a device from a vendor that is locked down if that is what they want.

_aavaa_

4 months ago

1 reply

Nothing about providing the API for this requires that your phone automatically accept such requests.

They can change it so that all first requests require confirmation with password.

tpmoney

4 months ago

1 reply

And you can secure your HTTP server and SSH server with credentials too, but if your wanting a secure internal service it’s also probably a good idea to put a firewall in place and only allow access from authorized endpoints. Security isn’t a binary thing. It comes in layers and “no publicly accessible API” is (or at least can be) more secure than “public API”.

_aavaa_

4 months ago

1 reply

It just so happens that Apple gets to make that decision for us for “our good” and provides us with no say in the matter.

Why does Apple get to dictate what is an authorized endpoint for my device?

tpmoney

3 months ago

Because they made it and you don't have to buy it. If you don't want a device that's locked down as much as Apple locks down theirs, you can buy any number of alternative devices.

supermatt

4 months ago

Then they should enable interoperability. Either provide a secure platform that others can access, or let third parties offer their own. The whole point of passkeys is to handle remote authentication and authorisation securely - and is effectively what Apple are already doing under the hood.

This whole "we can only trust Apple" argument is outdated given modern security standards like FIDO2/WebAuthn and passkeys

hu3

4 months ago

Does Windows Phone Link not mirror iOS screen? It does for Android.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/sync-across-your-dev...

dpoloncsak

4 months ago

"EU might actually enforce Anti-Trust laws, so we don't want to offer it to EU"

_aavaa_

4 months ago

> And the company would not like the EU regulator to require the company to tweak macOS to make it possible to mirror Android phones in addition to iPhones.

What reason do they have to believe this rather than “let’s blame the EU and make it look like reasonable regulations (being allowed to install app outside Apple’s control) are evil.”?

1 more comments available on Hacker News

View full discussion on Hacker News

ID: 45274984Type: storyLast synced: 11/20/2025, 4:53:34 PM

Want the full context?

Jump to the original sources

Read the primary article or dive into the live Hacker News thread when you're ready.

Open link View on HN