Apple to include support for AirPlay alternatives in iOS 27

Finally, after all these years.

According to Mark Gurman and Bloomberg, through his Power On newsletter, Apple is planning on abiding by the new European Union's Digital Markets Act and supporting AirPlay alternatives, like Google Cast (formerly Chromecast) in iOS 27, natively. This comes after landmark legislature in the EU, forcing tech companies, like Apple to foster a more open tech landscape.

The EU's Digital Markets Act requires interoperability with other mobile devices for software features, such as AirPlay. This would allow users to switch out AirPlay for alternatives, like Google Cast, or even Matter Casting, if they so choose. All options would still be available no matter what to the end-user, but the biggest change comes in the form of being able to switch out the default casting technology.

This is great for a more open tech community, but this still comes at a cost. Because the European Union's Digital Markets Act only stretches its jurisdiction throughout the EU, this feature would only be available for users in the EU. Users in the US, and all around the globe, will still be locked down to use AirPlay as the default system-wide.

However, because of the existing integrations of Google Cast and other technologies in individual apps like Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, Spotify, and many more, the freedom of choice is still there. It is just a little further out of reach than it will be in the EU, with defaults being chosen by the user in the EU.

Apple's compliance with the EU's Digital Markets Act is a major step towards a better environment for tech advancement, especially with AirPlay and other casting technologies. We will have to wait and see what Apple does soon.