For iOS to comply with the Digital Markets Act, Apple had to make many concessions. Today, developers have the possibility of offering alternative stores for the iPhone, in order to compete with the App Store. And some companies even have the possibility of offering their apps for direct download on the web, without going through a store. Additionally, Apple is allowing Apple Pay competitors to leverage the iPhone’s NFC module for mobile payments.
And if these changes only happened on iPhones used in the European Union, it is because the iPad had temporarily escaped the new rules of the Digital Markets Act. But in six months, that will no longer be the case. Indeed, in a press release, the European Commission has just announced the designation of iPadOS which is now one of the products affected by the new legislation.
“The Digital Markets Act is a dynamic tool that allows us to face the realities of digital markets. Today we brought Apple iPadOS within the scope of the DMA obligations”, explains Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president in charge of competition policy. After conducting an investigation, the European Commission concluded that even if iPadOS does not meet the thresholds, The iPad operating system is an important gateway that businesses depend on to reach their customers.
Changes are coming to the iPad
After this designation, Apple has a six-month deadline to make iPadOS compliant with the DMA, as it did for iOS. We can therefore expect that, like iOS, iPadOS allows third-party app stores in the European Union, and that certain developers have the possibility of distributing their apps directly, without going through a store. This is in any case good news for developers who have already launched their stores on iOS, or who are preparing to do so, since they will also be able to offer an iPad equivalent.
In any case, it should be noted that the European Commission is announcing this designation while Apple is preparing to stock up on new features for the iPad. In fact, a keynote dedicated to tablets is planned by the Cupertino company in May.
