Apple will bring sideloading and other EU-mandated changes to iPadOS this fall

Company also updates fee policy for devs who don't use Apple's App Store.

Andrew Cunningham - Updated May 2, 2024 5:30 pm UTC

Andrew Cunningham

Starting in March with the release of iOS 17.4, iPhones in the European Union have been subject to the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), a batch of regulations that (among other things) forced Apple to support alternate app stores, app sideloading, and third-party browser engines in iOS for the first time. This week, EU regulators announced that they are also categorizing Apple's iPadOS as a "gatekeeper," meaning that the iPad will soon be subject to the same regulations as the iPhone.

In a developer blog post released today, Apple said that it would comply with the EU's regulations "later this fall, as required." All changes that Apple has made to iOS on European iPhones to comply with the DMA will be implemented in the same way on the iPad, though it's not clear whether these changes will be brought to iPadOS 17 or if they'll just be a part of the upcoming iPacOS 18 update.

The EU began investigating whether iPadOS would qualify as a gatekeeper in September 2023, the same day it decided that iOS, the Safari browser, and the App Store were all gatekeepers.

"Apple now has six months to ensure full compliance of iPadOS with the DMA obligations," reads the EU's blog post about the change.

Apple technically split the iPad's operating system from the iPhone's in 2019 when it began calling its tablet operating system "iPadOS" instead of iOS. But practically speaking, little separates the two operating systems under the hood. Both iOS and iPadOS share the same software build numbers, they're updated in lockstep (with rare exceptions), and most importantly for DMA compliance purposes, they pull software from the same locked-down App Store with the same Apple-imposed restrictions in place.

Apps distributed through alternate app stores or third-party websites will have to abide by many of Apple's rules and will still generally be limited to using Apple's public APIs. However, the ability to use alternate app stores and browser engines on the iPad's large screen (and the desktop-class M-series chips) could make the tablets better laptop replacements by allowing them to do more of the things that Mac users can do on their systems.

Apple's blog post also mentioned tweaks to the company's implementation of its Core Technology Fee (CTF), an amount it charges developers who distribute their apps through third-party app stores or who use third-party payment systems to "[reflect] the value Apple provides developers through ongoing investments in the tools, technologies, and services that enable them to build and share innovative apps with users." Developers can either stick with the status quo of the first-party App Store with Apple's fees intact, or they can pay the CTF and use alternate services.

Apple's changes to the CTF attempt to address criticisms from developers who distribute free apps that don't generate revenue, and developers whose apps unexpectedly go viral. Apps that don't generate any revenue simply won't need to pay any CTF at all, and "small developers" that distribute apps outside the app store essentially get a three-year grace period where they won't have to pay the CTF even if their apps grow unexpectedly popular (there are a few conditions for that one, though, so it's worth reading the updated policy if this applies to you).

The CTF changes apply to iOS now and will apply to iPadOS when it is updated to comply with the other DMA requirements.

Though Apple has made multiple changes to iOS in the EU to comply with the DMA, EU regulators are already investigating Apple (as well as Google and Meta) for "non-compliance." Depending on the results of that investigation, the EU may require Apple to make more changes to the way it allows third-party apps to be installed in iOS and to the way that third-party developers are allowed to advertise non-Apple app store and payment options. Any changes that Apple makes to iOS to comply with the investigation's findings will presumably trickle down to the iPad as well.

Of course, none of this directly affects US-based iPhone or iPad users, whose devices remain restricted to Apple's app stores and the WebKit browsing engine. That said, we have seen some recent App Store rule changes that have arguably trickled down from Apple's attempts to comply with the DMA, most notably policy changes that have allowed (some, not all) retro game console emulators into the App Store for the first time.

This story was updated on May 2, 2024, to incorporate Apple's statement on complying with the EU's ruling on iPadOS and to mention Apple's Core Technology Fee changes.