The iPad joined the European Union’s list of “gatekeeper” platforms Monday. The designation requires Apple to make the same sorts of sweeping changes to iPadOS that the company already made to iPhone, including allowing sideloading of applications.
Apple has six months to implement the modifications.
iPad is now designated an EU gatekeeper
While the United States has done little to regulate Big Tech, the European Union is really stepping up. In 2023, the EU passed the Digital Markets Act. Under its provisions, the European Commission labeled iOS and the App Store as gatekeepers. (The commission defines gatekeepers as “large digital platforms” that have “strong economic position, significant impact on the internal market and are active in multiple EU countries; a strong intermediation position, meaning that they link a large user base to a large number of businesses;” and “an entrenched and durable position in the market, meaning that their position has been stable over time.”)
At the same time, the European Commission opened an investigation into whether it should also label iPadOS a gatekeeper. And on Monday it announced:
“On the basis of the findings of the investigation, the Commission concluded that iPadOS constitutes an important gateway for business users to reach end users, and that Apple enjoys an entrenched and durable position with respect to iPadOS.”
iPhone changes coming to iPad
“The Digital Markets Act aims at preventing gatekeepers from imposing unfair conditions on businesses and end users and at ensuring the openness of important digital services,” says the European Commission. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft all had some of their tech receive the label.
The most significant change for Apple users so far is the requirement to allow iPhone users to download apps from the internet and third-party app marketplaces. It’s the end of the App Store being the only option — at least in Europe.
Apple enabled rival iPhone software marketplaces to open when iOS 17.4 launched, with AltStore PAL being the first. And the upcoming iOS 17.5 will enable developers to distribute their apps directly to iPhone users from their own websites.
Other changes mandated by the European Union include support for third-party browser engines and opening the iPhone’s NFC chip to third-party payment and banking apps.
Now that the iPad has been designated a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act, Apple must implement these same changes on its tablets. With a deadline of half a year, the modifications might arrive in iPadOS 18.
To be clear, all of this is something only residents of the European Union need to be concerned about. Everyone else is still limited to Apple’s own App Store.
