Crypto News: What if non-Apple headphones worked like AirPods?

One reason consumers like Apple products is how well they work together. Austin Carr writes today about efforts in Europe that might also make it easier for other companies' products to connect to your iPhone or MacBook. Plus: The post-pandemic expansion that relied on stocks is faltering, and why Oscar-winning actors are starring in action flicks. If this email was forwarded to you, click here to sign up.

Last week, European Union antitrust regulators ordered Apple Inc. to make a new batch of changes to its product ecosystem. The EU had previously focused on wonky ways to enhance market competition with Apple through third-party app stores and reduced fees for software developers, but its latest measures take aim at a common consumer gadget: AirPods.

If you own a set of these wireless earbuds, you've likely noticed how fast and seamlessly they sync with your iPhone and MacBook. Whereas Bose and Sony buds usually take an extra moment to activate, if not some futzing with your settings menus, AirPods almost always connect the instant they touch your ears. It feels like magic, except it's not: Apple has a device-pairing protocol it explicitly prevents competitors from accessing.

It may sound odd that such a tiny interaction design—which the EU calls "proximity-triggered pairing"—has drawn the ire of regulators, but electronics makers have cried foul about this one for years. When you buy AirPods or an Apple Watch or a HomePod speaker, all you have to do is hold your iPhone next to them for a slick setup overlay to surface on the screen. Voilà, that's it. By contrast, setting up Bose earbuds, a Garmin smartwatch or an Amazon Echo often requires syncing through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, scanning a QR code, downloading a companion app and so on.

Apple's AirPods connect through an exclusive device-pairing protocol. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

These small pain points add up, subtly affecting brand perception and loyalty. I, for one, have purchased multiple sets of AirPods over the years, which I love, but I also prefer Sony headphones at work. I'm in a constant battle to get them switching properly between my Apple products, which inevitably makes me want to use my Sony headphones less—not to mention less likely to purchase another version in the future.

Rivals argue that these protocols should be considered basic device infrastructure and that it's unfair for Apple to restrict access to the underlying plumbing. Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg recently complained that these limits have "thoroughly hamstrung the ability for anyone else to build something that can connect to the iPhone in the same way," including Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses. "Whenever you push on this, they get super touchy and they basically wrap their defense of it in, well, if we let other companies plug into our thing, then that would violate people's privacy and security," he said. "It's like, no, just do a better job designing the protocol."

Indeed, Apple has said mandating interoperability with its protocols could lead to security abuses or the inadvertent exposure of personal data. In response to the EU's order for Apple to open up its proximity-pairing feature to third parties (along with other popular protocols such as AirDrop file sharing and AirPlay media casting), a company spokesperson said in a statement that these decisions "wrap us in red tape, slowing down Apple's ability to innovate for users in Europe and forcing us to give away our new features for free to companies who don't have to play by the same rules."

Perhaps you agree with Apple's stance here. After all, its beautifully integrated hardware portfolio is arguably its best product offering, one that it invested decades expanding so you can live in its walled garden of computers and tablets and music players and TV boxes and virtual-reality headsets. There's a decent possibility cracking open the gates to this Eden will worsen that experience—if not make it harder for Apple to sell more iPhone peripherals and related subscription services.

On the other hand, there's a world in which liberating certain Apple protocols could make me want to use Apple products more. Sure, it's understandable why the company wouldn't want to make it easier to pair the iPhone with Samsung earbuds or a Google watch, but what about areas where it doesn't compete? I'd kill to be able to connect with my finicky HP printer and Nanit baby monitor as seamlessly as my AirPods.

For that to happen, I'll have to wait for Apple to change its tune on earbuds—or else move to Europe.

In Brief

The Jack Ma-backed Ant Group says it's made a breakthrough in training AI models that would cut costs by 20%.
After his biggest political rival was jailed, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is banking on his NATO allies needing Turkey more than they need a fight over its democracy.
Nadine Menendez, wife of convicted former Senator Bob Menendez, now faces her own trial in a New York federal courtroom.

Wealth Effect Has an Achilles' Heel

The stock market volatility set off by concerns over President Donald Trump's rapidly shifting trade war threatens one of the primary growth engines of the US economy: spending by high-income earners.

The well-to-do bolstered the economy over the past few years, keeping their wallets open even as the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates to stifle inflation, pandemic savings dwindled and lower-income consumers buckled under the strain of higher prices. Much of the spending by rich Americans has been fueled by what's known as the "wealth effect," a theory from behavioral economics that says robust stock market gains and rising home prices cause consumers to feel flush even if their incomes haven't changed.

A market rout that began last month has shaved trillions of dollars off US stock values, spreading uneasiness that has some Americans reassessing their spending. Economists say a significant pullback from high earners would jeopardize an expansion that's looking increasingly fragile. At their most recent policy meeting, last week, Federal Reserve officials pared back their growth forecasts for this year, amid increased uncertainty over the effects of the Trump administration's policies. The median projection showed policymakers now expect the US economy will expand 1.7% in 2025 rather than the 2.1% they predicted in December.

Jonnelle Marte talks with a man thinking harder about his purchases and experts about what's ahead: The Richest Americans Kept the Economy Booming. What Happens When They Stop Spending?

And Now for Something Fun ...

Stars are forgoing gravitas for getaway cars. Illustration by María Jesús Contrerasl

With awards season over and Serious Roles for Serious Actors in the rearview mirror for a bit, Hollywood is getting down and dirty (and bloody) this April with the big business of action flicks. And Oscar-winning stars are in the line of fire.

In The Amateur, Rami Malek is a mild-mannered CIA cryptographer until his wife is murdered and he begins taking down the people responsible. In The Accountant 2, Ben Affleck returns as an autistic book cooker who does work for mob bosses and can wield a gun. And in G20, Viola Davis is a US president who, luckily, turns out to be good at ass-kicking when terrorists attack the Group of 20 summit and her family goes missing. She's doing John McClane in a sleek red gown. Yippee-ki-yay … my fellow Americans.

There's a time-honored tradition of serious movie stars turning to thrillers for the paycheck and box-office footprint—just look at Liam Neeson and his Taken movies or Denzel Washington and his Equalizer franchise. But together these new films feel like a throwback to an earlier era of Hollywood. In those halcyon days (specifically, the 1990s), star vehicles didn't have to be prestige dramas or tentpole superhero franchise fare to attract A-list talent. They just had to be a blast.

Esther Zuckerman takes on this question: Why Are So Many A-List Actors Doing Old-School Action Movies Now?

The Cost of Driving

$52 million

That's how much New York City's congestion pricing raised in toll revenue in February as President Donald Trump and New York Governor Kathy Hochul remain in a standoff over his bid to end the program.