iPad has also been subject to EU regulations: it will support app side-lining and alternative engines in browsers

With the latest iOS 17 update, European iPhone users are now able to side-load apps, and alternative browsers can run their own engines, not just Safari. Such EU requirements recently came into force at the legislative level, which Apple (and others) failed to cope with. However, this did not apply to the iPad. For now.

According to Bloomberg, the iPad now also falls under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Thus, the company has about six months to implement all the necessary changes. As a result, iPad users will also be able to install applications from alternative sources, not just the App Store, and third-party browsers will be able to embed their own engines in the iPad.

Margrethe Vestager, the head of the EU’s competition authority, noted that even though the iPad does not meet all the threshold criteria, “iPadOS is an important gateway that many companies rely on to communicate with their customers.” That is why the iPad decision was made, which is to “ensure that fairness and competition are preserved.”

At the same time, an Apple spokesperson noted that the company remains focused on providing services to European users, “while mitigating the new privacy and data security risks posed by the DMA”.

9to5Mac notes that in case of violations, the EU will be able to impose a fine of up to 10% of its global revenue on Apple.