Earlier this week, the European Commission announced that iPadOS is now designated as a gatekeeper platform in the European Union, just like the iPhone and the App Store.
In a new developer announcement today, Apple acknowledged this change and confirmed it will bring features like alternative app marketplaces, third-party browser engines, and more to the iPad in the EU later this fall.
Changes coming to the iPad this year
The same business terms that apply to the DMA changes for the iPhone will also apply to the iPad. This includes the Core Technology Fee (which is also being revised today). In a post on its developer website, Apple confirmed:
This week, the European Commission designated iPadOS a gatekeeper platform under the Digital Markets Act. Apple will bring our recent iOS changes for apps in the European Union (EU) to iPadOS later this fall, as required. Developers can choose to adopt the Alternative Business Terms for Apps in the EU that will include these additional capabilities and options on iPadOS, or stay on Apple’s existing terms.
The European Commission has given Apple six months to bring iPadOS in compliance with the Digital Markets Act guidelines. This means we can expect the changes to roll out to iPadOS by sometime in November at the latest.
What features are coming to iPad users in the European Union as part of these changes? Here’s a breakdown:
- The ability to install third-party app marketplaces and download apps from third-party app marketplaces.
- Support for third-party browser engines.
- A new prompt in Safari that asks users to pick a default browser.
- Web Distribution for allowing users to download apps from a developer’s website.
As a refresher, the reason these features were initially limited to the iPhone is because European Union ruled that iOS is a gatekeeper platform, not iPadOS. At the time, Apple had convinced the EU that iPadOS on the iPad was a completely different platform. The EU has since changed its mine, even though the iPad technically doesn’t meet the active user threshold set forth in the DMA.
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