Europe

The European Parliament has this week voted to support the recommendations of the EU Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection on the "Right to Repair," including a system of mandatory labelling on consumer electronics to provide explicit information on the repairability and lifespan of products (via iFixit). The motion will compel the EU Commission to "develop and introduce ...

European smart home company Somfy will make its Tahoma gateway hub HomeKit compatible from the beginning of next month, according to the iFun.de tech website. The gateway is used to control the France-based company's shutters and blinds, including external blinds, vertical awnings, patio awnings and pergolas, so if the company sticks to its scheduled rollout, owners of these Somfy products...

Apple's device identifier service for advertisers is being targeted by privacy advocates in two complaints to Spanish and German authorities, reports Bloomberg. A Vienna-based group called NOYB ("None Of Your Business") has filed complaints with data protection authorities in the two countries, calling for them to outlaw Apple's "Identifier for Advertisers" (IDFA) service. Each ‌iPhone‌...

As the European Union increasingly targets big tech companies, top antitrust enforcer Margrethe Vestager has warned against the structural break up of big tech companies (via The Information). The comments were somewhat surprising, as Vestager has aggressively pursued antitrust investigations against the likes of Apple, Google, and Amazon in recent years. For example, it was Vestager who...

EU regulators are taking aim at up to 20 big tech companies, including Apple, as part of a "hit list" that seeks to curb their market influence, reports The Financial Times. The plans reportedly involve the demand that larger tech companies face tougher regulations than smaller competitors, data sharing with rivals, and increased transparency on data gathering. The move is part of a wider...

Apple has today announced that it will construct two of the world's largest onshore wind turbines near Esbjerg in Denmark, in an expansion of its investment in renewable energy. Via a press release, Apple explained that the new 200-meter-tall turbines will produce 62 gigawatt hours of energy every year, enough to power almost 20,000 homes. The area will also function as a test site for...

Disney+ today officially launched in the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, and Austria. The premium streaming service is accessible via web browser, on Amazon Fire devices, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV (4K or HD), iOS devices, Android, Google Chromecast, Xbox One, PS4, and smart TVs from LG, Sony, Samsung, and Vizio. You can download the iPhone and iPad apps her...

Disney's premium streaming service, Disney+, will launch across Europe on Tuesday with temporarily degraded video quality, according to Reuters. The measure aims to reduce the burden on the continent's data networks as millions of people switch to working from home. In a company statement, Disney said it had agreed to a European Union request for streaming-video providers to "ensure the...

Following in the footsteps of Netflix, YouTube is reducing the quality of its videos in Europe to reduce the strain on broadband networks caused by an upsurge in home usage following the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reports. "We are making a commitment to temporarily switch all traffic in the EU to standard definition by default," the company said in a statement. Standard definition videos...

Leaked proposals from the European Union suggest that smartphone manufacturers in the EU could be forced to make all batteries removable in the future. This would mean that any smartphone brand wanting to sell a handheld in the EU, including Apple, would have to ensure that every device on the market has a user-removable battery (via TechRadar). Image via iFixit This proposal is said to be a...

Curve, the banking and payment service which connects several accounts to one smart card, today announced Apple Pay support for all users across Europe. For those unfamiliar with the service, Curve is a payment card that aggregates multiple payment cards via its accompanying mobile app, allowing users to make payments and withdrawals from a single card. In other words, you can load a...

Disney+ is coming to Europe sooner than we thought. Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom will now get the streaming service on March 24, Disney revealed today. Additional Western Europe markets, including Belgium, the Nordics, and Portugal, will follow in summer 2020, said the company in a press release. Disney+ is already available in the...

Disney+ is coming to Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom on March 31, about four months after it launches in the U.S. on November 12. Disney CEO Bob Iger announced the launch date for the European markets yesterday during an earnings call, the same day it was revealed that the streaming service would be available on Amazon Fire TV streaming devices. Disney+ will also...

Apple Pay has expanded to more banks in Europe today, including ING in Germany, bunq in Austria, and ABN AMRO in the Netherlands. ING supporting ‌Apple Pay‌ in Germany is notable after a lengthy waiting period following the original announcement. ‌Apple Pay‌ made its debut in Germany in December, allowing iPhone and Apple Watch users in the country to take advantage of the contactless mobile ...

Apple Pay is officially going live in 13 additional countries today, including Greece, Portugal, Romania, and Slovakia, bringing Apple's mobile payment system to millions more users across Europe. Finally #ApplePay is available in Romania 🙏 pic.twitter.com/pgjZUJjPWX— Ciprian Redinciuc (@cyupa89) June 26, 2019 In Slovakia, for example, users can already load cards onto their Apple Wallet ...

Apple Music vice president Oliver Schusser spoke with German blog Macerkopf this week, revealing that European developers have now earned over $25 billion from the App Store since its inception in 2008. Schusser also noted that customers have downloaded and streamed over 50 billion episodes of 650,000 active shows on Apple Podcasts. Apple provided MacRumors with Schusser's full remarks in ...

EU Code Week runs from October 6-21, and during the event Apple will offer more than 2,000 free coding sessions, with at least one free session every day in every Apple store in Europe. Like previous Today at Apple events, these sessions are open to all customers, and Apple says they are designed to help people of all ages and skill levels learn to code. Sessions include "How To: Get Started ...

Apple today launched its annual Back to School promotion in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and unlike the multi-week delay in past years, the 2018 edition has also gone live simultaneously in many European and Asian countries. Participating countries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Ita...

Apple CEO Tim Cook has arrived in Ireland, the latest destination on his European tour, which has included stops in Italy and the Netherlands. Apple CEO Tim Cook and Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach or Prime Minister of Ireland, tweeted that he had a "good meeting" with Cook in the capital of Dublin on Monday. It's unclear what was discussed, but it appears to have ...

Danalock today announced that the HomeKit version of its Danalock V3 smart lock is now available for purchase from Apple's website and retail stores in more than 20 other countries across Europe, after limited availability in April. Danalock V3 is said to be the first and only retrofit smart lock compatible with Apple's HomeKit platform and Home app in Europe. Like the August Smart Lock, it...