Apple building AirPods-style pairing for Meta glasses

Apple ↘ 0.80% is building a new API that will allow third-party accessories, including Meta's ↗ 1.02% Ray-Ban glasses and Quest headsets, to pair automatically across Apple devices in the same seamless fashion as AirPods, according to a report from MacRumors on Monday. The move represents the latest chapter in Apple's grudging opening of its ecosystem under pressure from the European Union's Digital Markets Act.macrumors+1

A Long Push From Meta

The development comes after Meta spent approximately nine months pressing Apple to open its device-pairing system to rivals. Meta has made more interoperability requests of Apple than any other company — at least 15 as of late 2024 — seeking access to features that Apple has historically reserved for its own hardware.developer.apple+3

Under the new API, devices like Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses and Quest headsets could link to an iPhone and instantly become available across a user's other Apple devices, mirroring the one-tap pairing experience that AirPods have offered for years.appleinsider+1

Building on DMA Compliance

The API builds on interoperability work Apple has already undertaken in the EU. In iOS 26.3, released earlier this year, Apple introduced proximity pairing for third-party earbuds and notification forwarding for wearables in Europe. By iOS 26.5, released in May, those features expanded further, allowing third-party wearables to access Live Activities forwarding and additional pairing capabilities.devices.slashdot+2

Apple introduced its AccessorySetupKit framework at WWDC 2024, providing developers with tools for streamlined Bluetooth and Wi-Fi accessory pairing dialogs. The new API for Meta devices appears to extend this concept to enable the kind of cross-device synchronization that has long been an Apple-exclusive advantage.developer.apple

Privacy Tensions Persist

The relationship between Apple and Meta over interoperability remains fraught. Apple has publicly warned that granting Meta's full slate of requests could allow Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp to access users' messages, phone calls, photos, and calendar events. Meta, for its part, has argued that Apple uses privacy as a pretext to maintain competitive advantages for its own products.news.ycombinator+1

The European Commission has made clear that it views these interoperability changes as legally binding obligations under the DMA, and Apple lost a court challenge over its gatekeeper designation earlier this month.macrumors+1