The drama demonstrates how powerful gatekeepers like Apple have become and how even minor changes to Apple’s products can create dramatic ripple effects in the rest of the tech industry.
When Apple announced iOS 18, this year’s version of its mobile operating system, most of the attention went to its slate of new artificial intelligence features.
But a lesser-noticed change in iOS 18 – a tweak to an obscure feature that allows users to share their contact lists with various apps – may wind up being more important.
