Apple’s latest iOS 26 update includes a new WLAN chip, designated N1, promising more efficient iPhone location tracking-a feature currently blocked for users in the european Union. The company is reportedly withholding functionality that analyzes routes traveled to suggest choice paths during traffic congestion, fearing it would trigger obligations under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) to open the technology to competing app providers.This move comes as Apple refines its location services, aiming to provide users with proactive navigation assistance. While the feature is available globally outside the EU, the company’s hesitation stems from concerns that enabling it within the bloc would necessitate allowing third-party map applications access to the same data and capabilities, perhaps undermining its competitive advantage. The DMA, designed to foster competition in digital markets, requires dominant players like Apple to ensure interoperability with rival services.
According to Heise Online, Apple’s card app currently tracks visited locations and learns frequently used routes to anticipate and suggest alternative pathways when traffic delays occur.the company has so far prevented the activation of these functions within the EU, apparently to avoid compliance with the DMA’s stipulations regarding data access for other app developers.
