Apple has agreed to build clipboard sync between the iPhone and Windows, after Microsoft asked for it through the EU’s Digital Markets Act interoperability system. Copy on the iPhone, paste on a Windows PC — or the other way round — with the devices paired and the pasteboard staying in sync without the receiving app sitting in the foreground.
That is the trick Apple has offered between the iPhone and Mac for years, under the name Universal Clipboard. Windows users currently get cross-device copy and paste only through third-party apps, which must be running in the foreground and granted permission for every single transfer.
Microsoft, which has been quietly dissolving Phone Link into Windows 11 itself, filed its request on 25 March 2026 through Apple’s EU interoperability portal — the system the DMA forced Apple to operate. Apple accepted a project plan on 26 June, and the work is now in Phase 3, meaning implementation has begun.
Apple’s proposed solution reuses the accessory tooling it built for the EU. Users pair a Windows PC as an accessory and grant a one-time consent for pasteboard sharing, handled through AccessorySetupKit.
To adopt this solution, you will need to adopt AccessorySetupKit in order for the user to consent to the necessary permissions allowing the pasteboard to be shared with your accessory.
The same framework underpins the AirPods-style pairing and notification forwarding Apple added for third-party wearables in iOS 26.5 — features that have stayed EU-only.
When it arrives
Apple expects the engineering to be complete by autumn 2027, ahead of a developer beta and then a public release. Beta cycles of six to eight weeks would put the feature at the end of 2027 or early 2028. Microsoft has a second, earlier-stage request in the queue: real-time sync between the iPhone’s Photos library and Windows.
DMA-required features have mostly stayed inside the EU. eSIM transfers and the Android switch tools went global, but the wearable pairing and notification work did not. If clipboard sync follows that pattern, the EU gets it first and everyone else keeps using the workarounds — UAE users should treat the 2028 date as a European one.
Why is the EU involved in Apple’s iPhone-to-Windows clipboard feature?
The EU’s Digital Markets Act classifies Apple as a gatekeeper for iOS and forces it to respond to interoperability requests from other companies. Microsoft filed one for clipboard sync in March 2026; Apple accepted the project plan in June. Apple’s gatekeeper status was confirmed by the EU’s General Court in July 2026, when it dismissed Apple’s challenge.
When will iPhone-to-Windows clipboard sync launch?
Apple expects the engineering to be complete by autumn 2027. It will ship first in a developer beta, with a public release likely around the end of 2027 or early 2028 if the usual six-to-eight-week beta cycle holds.
Will iPhone-to-Windows clipboard sync work outside the EU?
Probably not at launch. Apple has kept most DMA-required features EU-only, including AirPods-style pairing and notification forwarding for third-party wearables. A few, like eSIM transfers and Android switch tools, did reach other countries, so a global rollout is possible later.
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