The one time that Europe is explicitly mentioned, however, is in relation to Apple’s grip on digital wallets, NFC and mobile payment technology within its iOS ecosystem.
For context, the EU filed charges against Apple in May 2022, concluding that Apple “abused a dominant position” around mobile wallets by preventing rival services from accessing the iPhone’s contactless NFC payment functionality.
For example, Apple allows merchants to use the iPhone’s NFC antenna to accept tap-to-pay payments from consumers.
Then there is cross-platform smartwatch compatibility, which the DOJ says Apple impedes by restricting certain features from third-party smartwatch makers.
However, NFC, digital wallets, and mobile payments are where they seem to be most neatly aligned on.
Lizcore, a sport tracking startup out of Barcelona, caught our eye on the 4YFN show floor at MWC this week.
Lizcore’s system requires gyms to buy in and install its smart base units and top-out holds for each boulder problem.
It’s activity and progress tracking with minimal effort so climbers can concentrate on the real work — of training, climbing, sending and repeating.
So climbers could even use the minimalist wearable to forget having to bring their own wallets to the gym.
Lizcore says the system gives gyms data about quiet vs busy times for different climbing areas and walls.
The EU suspects Apple of unfairly favoring its own mobile payment tech, Apple Pay, and squeezing out the ability of rivals to develop competing contactless payment offerings on its mobile platform.
It has also committed to applying “fair, objective, transparent, and non-discriminatory” eligibility criteria to grant NFC access to third parties — which will have to conclude an ADP license agreement to gain access.
The Apple Pay competition saga dates back several years at this point.
The Apple Pay case pre-dates ex ante competition legislation the bloc has since enacted and which Apple is subject to; having been designated, in September, as a so-called “gatekeeper” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
And although Apple’s payment tech, Apple Pay, has not been designated a “core platform service” the iOS App Store has.
