Apple Plans iPhone-to-Windows Copy and Paste in EU After Microsoft Request

Key Points:

• Apple is developing a new feature to enable cross-device copy and paste functionality between iOS devices and Windows PCs, following a request from Microsoft under Apple's EU interoperability system.
• The feature will allow seamless clipboard synchronization, enabling users to copy content on an iPhone and paste it directly on a Windows PC without manual app actions, requiring one-time user permission for each paired device.
• Apple plans to implement this using a method similar to its Accessory Notifications system introduced for third-party wearables in iOS 26.5, requiring adoption of AccessorySetupKit for permission management.
• Currently, clipboard access on iPhones is limited to apps running in the foreground with user consent for each action, and Apple’s Universal Clipboard only supports cross-device copy and paste between iOS and macOS.
• The engineering effort is expected to be completed by fall 2027, with initial release in a developer beta and possible public availability by early 2028, likely limited to EU users initially due to regulatory requirements.