Apple is finally working on a feature that Android users have enjoyed for years
Despite Android devices having access to the feature for a number of years now, many Apple fans can finally access the ability to copy and paste items across devices beyond the company's ecosystem, making multi-platform workflows even easier than before.
By far one of the biggest benefits of owning Apple devices is the seamless functionality between all of the different devices, with iPhones, Macbooks, and iPads all able to communicate with each other as if they were the same gadget.
Achieving even a fraction of that same communication between an iPhone and a Windows PC, however, was for a long time far more complicated and cumbersome, requiring the use of third-party apps that removed the simplicity you might be used to when using a Mac.
Now, as reported by MacRumors, Apple is developing a new feature at the request of Microsoft that would allow iOS users to seamlessly copy and paste content from iPhones to PCs — and it was all made possible thanks to a new EU ruling.
What would the feature allow for?
Made possible by the Digital Markets Act – which is what forced Apple to apply interoperability features previously exclusive to the Apple Watch to other wearable tech – a plan was proposed for the connected copy and paste system on June 26, with it arriving in the near future.
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Proposed initially by Microsoft, which makes sense considering how it would benefit computer systems running its OS, this proposed quality of life feature would mimic what's currently available on Android phones and has been for a long time.
Enacting the feature, iOS users would be able to copy supported content on their iPhone or PC and paste it on the other directly, alongside performing productivity workflows without the need of a foregrounded app.
It appears as if you would still need to approve a one-time permission request when attempting to connect your iPhone to an associated Windows PC, but once that has been activated you should then be able to copy and paste in a continuous and 'lightweight' manner.
When is it likely to arrive?
While you might think that a feature like this could be simple for Apple to implement, the tech giant claims quite the opposite, suggesting that it requires a 'significant engineering effort' and thus won't be here in time for the next major iOS revision.
Experts have indicated that the period of fall 2027 is the most likely landing point for this feature, making it perfect timing-wise for iOS 28 if everything goes to plan as usual, so don't expect to take advantage of this in the immediate future.