Apple on Friday announced that third-party app stores will be allowed on the iPad in the European Union starting September 16, with the public release of iPadOS 18.
“Users in the EU can download iPadOS apps on the App Store and through alternative distribution,” Apple said in an update on iPadOS 18 app distribution in the European Union.
The change comes in response to the EU’s landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA), which requires certain companies designated as “gatekeepers” to comply with pro-competition practices.
EU legislators originally only named iOS, which started allowing third-party app stores and app sideloading with iOS 17.4 in March, the App Store, and Apple’s Safari web browser as “core platform services” that needed to be opened up to competition. However, iPadOS was added to the list back in April, giving Apple six months to modify the platform in compliance with the DMA or face monetary repercussions.
Apple has now confirmed that iPad users in the EU will be able to install and use alternative app stores starting with iPadOS 18. It looks like Epic Games really will be able to bring Fortnite back to the iPad — at least in the EU. At the same time, developers will also be able to launch web browsers for iPad built on third-party browser engines instead of Apple’s own WebKit engine.
Apps will still have to be notarized by Apple for security purposes before they can be distributed through third-party app stores. What’s more, developers are required to sign new business agreements with Apple, with the tech giant charging a controversial “Core Technology Fee” even on apps distributed through alternative platforms that exceed a certain download threshold.
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