European Union continues to miss out on iPhone Mirroring, SharePlay Screen Sharing with iOS 18.4

With the impending release of iOS 18.4, iPhone users (particularly those in the European Union, or EU) are expecting some long-awaited features. Unfortunately, the EU will have to wait a little longer for one of those additions.

The newest Release Candidate for iOS 18.4 dropped on Monday for beta testers. While this update included improvements to Apple Intelligence, including priority notifications and non-English languages, EU users noticed that iPhone Mirroring is still not available. SharePlay Screen Sharing, which allows FaceTime users to share their screens, is also missing.

Apple stated that iPhone Mirroring won't be available in the EU due to "regulatory uncertainties," which is a broadly vague reason. Last June, the company cited the Digital Markets Act (DMA), saying: 

We are concerned that the interoperability requirements of the DMA could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that risk user privacy and data security.

It appears that Apple is holding fast to that claim. Considering that Apple and its practices were primary targets of the DMA, the company is likely treading lightly when it comes to certain features. The DMA is the legislation that famously forced Apple to drop its Lightning connector in favor of USB-C with the iPhone 15 (available renewed on Amazon for $487.34).

It's uncertain if iPhone Mirroring will make its way to the iPhone with iOS 19, which is expected to bring a major overhaul to Apple's mobile operating system. For now, iPhone users in the EU will have to be content without the feature.