Apple Confirms iPadOS Will Get Same EU App Changes as iOS This Fall

Apple today confirmed that it will be bringing all of the app ecosystem changes made to iOS in the European Union to iPadOS in the fall. Earlier this week, the European Commission said that iPadOS is also a gatekeeper platform under the Digital Markets Act.

ipad pro new blue
EU developers will be able to distribute iPad apps outside of the App Store using alternative app marketplaces or websites, and all of the same terms will apply. The Core Technology Fee will be charged for apps that are distributed outside of the ‌App Store‌ and have more than one million first annual installs, though there are exceptions for small developers, which Apple also announced today.

With iPadOS being added to the mix, Apple has also confirmed that users who install the same app on both iOS and iPadOS in a 12-month period will only generate one first annual install for that app rather than two, which should help developers keep below the CTF threshold.

As with the changes to iOS, the upcoming changes to iPadOS only apply to developers who distribute apps in the European Union and ‌iPad‌ users in the EU. For the rest of the world, there are no changes and apps will continue to be available only from the ‌App Store‌.

Popular Stories

iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Airpods Max Feature Green Triad

Apple Releases New AirPods Max Firmware With Lossless and Low-Latency Audio Support [Updated]

Monday March 31, 2025 3:49 pm PDT by
Update 4/2/25: Apple has updated an AirPods support page to indicate that the AirPods Max (USB-C) firmware update version 7E99 is now "coming soon." The original article continues below. Apple today released a new firmware update for the USB-C version of the AirPods Max headphones. The new firmware is version 7E99, up from the prior 7A291 firmware the device was previously running....

Top Rated Comments

vtrautia Avatar
12 months ago
Massive thank you to EU. iPad users should able to download apps where ever they see fit. Just like Mac users.
That core technology fee is the final obstacle that should be removed.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TimFL1 Avatar
12 months ago
This is further evidence that Apple knows what they‘re doing, giving in this fast cause they know they‘re just buying time stalling DMA rollouts across platforms etc. to get their old business model going "just a little further".

Most of the other artificial roadblockers they have going will fall like domino blocks (little to no resistance from Applw) with the EU starting their nitpicking period.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
User 6502 Avatar
12 months ago
Apple capitulated once again. Thank you EU for caring about your citizens ❤️??
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
12 months ago
Once again, congratulations EU friends on soon getting to do with your iPads what you've already been able to do on your iPhones for nearly 2 months now... and what the rest of us have been able to do with our Macs for decades. It's so nice to get to do what you want with tech you OWN (after all, it's NOT borrowed tech).

While I live in the "land of the free," I envy your added freedoms when it comes to shopping around for best app pricing, best in-app payment options and sourcing apps from alt stores or direct from the developers who made the app... just like the rest of us can do with our Macs. The virtually-no-consequences of that exact same bundle of consumer freedoms have not destroyed all of us Mac owners. I expect the experience to be just about exactly the same with both your iPhones and soon your iPads too.

This thread should fill with rants & raving about how terrible this is, how EU people are doomed to viruses, trojans, plague, locusts, frogs, etc... but I would guess that almost all of the people who are griping about EU laws do NOT live within the EU and thus are completely unaffected by what other people's laws do or do not do for those other people.

I would also be quick to place a pretty sizable bet that if we could take a peek at the apps installed on many the fault-finders Macs, we'd find AT LEAST ONE- IF NOT MANY- that did NOT come from the Apple Mac App Store.

Nevertheless EU Apple friends, enjoy apps the rest of us can't even consider on the very same devices we also "own" because the almighty "Father" forbids it. Enjoy knowing that towards 100% of the purchase price is rewarding the developer of the app instead of another entity taking the first 15-30% right off the top. Etc. With Almighty Father the richest company in the world on any given day, they don't actually have to have a big bite of every single app transaction to survive. But I bet the developer who actually made the app you're buying will appreciate getting to make a bit more than before on the app THEY created... even if they sell it to you for less because they don't have to cover the steep, "first bite" overhead.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JPack Avatar
12 months ago

My question is what are the caveats to installing non-Apple-app-store apps?

Is Apple putting a clause in the end-user license or something like that?

I'm genuinely curious as to how Apple is implementing this "circumvention" of their app store and how it'd impact the security (and support) of my device.
What caveat? It's not like the App Store is unblemished and Apple can make guarantees about it.

https://www.macrumors.com/2021/02/09/scam-apps-ios-making-millions-revenue/
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mailia Avatar
12 months ago

Chapinging your region won’t suffice - cause Apple is keeping close tabs on your location:

https://adamdemasi.com/2024/04/20/ios-eligibility.html
Has Apple explained somewhere how constantly tracking my location is in my interest again? Wasn't this supposed to be the privacy phone?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)