The European Court of Justice rejected Apple's challenge to its Digital Markets Act gatekeeper designation, requiring the company to keep its five app stores — iOS, macOS, watchOS, iPadOS, and tvOS — open to rival services. The court treated all five stores as a single core platform service and ruled Apple cannot favor its own offerings over competitors'. A separate challenge targeting an EU probe into iMessage was dismissed as inadmissible, leaving that service exempt from interoperability rules for now.

Apple had argued the DMA's hardware interoperability mandate created security risks and that its app stores should be assessed individually. The court disagreed on both counts. Apple also objected to the EU's investigation into whether iMessage qualified as a covered service, but the court declined to hear that appeal. The status quo holds: iMessage remains largely untouched, while the App Store ecosystem must accommodate third-party storefronts and payment systems.

Apple called the decision unlawful and disproportionate, warning it erodes privacy and security protections built over decades. The company blamed DMA compliance for indefinitely delaying the Siri AI assistant launch in Europe. CEO Tim Cook and EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen recently held a call described as constructive, though Apple has not confirmed whether it will appeal this ruling.

Two major cases remain pending: Apple's challenge to the EU order forcing iOS open to third-party developers, and an appeal against the €500 million fine imposed last April for anti-steering violations. The gatekeeper loss signals Brussels will enforce DMA obligations rigorously, pressuring Apple to restructure its European operations while the company bets on litigation to buy time.