Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- Macworld reports that Apple is expected to bring Universal Clipboard functionality to Windows PCs by fall 2027 with iOS 28.
- Microsoft successfully requested this cross-device copy-paste feature through Apple’s EU Interoperability Requests system, with Apple approving the request in June.
- Users will need one-time consent for each paired accessory, enabling seamless clipboard sharing between iPhones and Windows computers for enhanced productivity.
Universal Clipboard is one of the most underrated features in the Apple ecosystem. Copy a bit of text or a URL on your iPhone, and you can paste it with a nearby Mac, eliminating the need to jump through hoops just to get text from one device to another.
Now that functionality is coming to PCs too. As spotted by Macrumors, Microsoft has taken advantage of Apple’s “Interoperability Requests” system in the EU to lobby for “a basic level of cross-device productivity that users already expect when working across devices.” Microsoft explains that it’s a highly requested feature by its users and requires “explicit, repeated user action and cannot function as a continuous, system-level experience comparable to what is available between iOS and macOS.”
The feature was requested in March and approved on June 26. However, Apple explains that replicating Universal Clipboard across Windows “will ultimately not be feasible or appropriate to provide an interoperability solution, including if providing effective interoperability would compromise the integrity of the operating system.” Therefore, it plans to “introduce a new solution that will follow similar patterns to the Accessory Notifications and Accessory Live Activities frameworks that were introduced on iOS26.5.”
It will enable you to create an extension to share and import pasteboard items with paired accessories. The system will notify your extension when items are copied into the clipboard; then your extension can use the Accessory Transport Extension framework to share the contents with your accessory as necessary using available transports.
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.
This solution will require the user to perform a one-time consent to sharing the pasteboard with each paired accessory that will receive this functionality.
Apple says the feature won’t be available until fall 2027, presumably as part of iOS 28. It’s not clear whether it has any plans to bring the feature to the rest of the world, but we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed.
