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

2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump. ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more. Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features. Liquid Glass Toggle iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass. In the Settings app, under Display...
Finder Siri Feature

Apple's New Siri Will Be Powered By Google Gemini

Wednesday November 5, 2025 11:57 am PST by
The smarter, more capable version of Siri that Apple is developing will be powered by Google Gemini, reports Bloomberg. Apple will pay Google approximately $1 billion per year for a 1.2 trillion parameter artificial intelligence model that was developed by Google. For context, parameters are a measure of how a model understands and responds to queries. More parameters generally means more...
Liquid Glass General Feature

Apple Shares Liquid Glass Design Gallery

Thursday November 6, 2025 2:45 pm PST by
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences. The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
Apple Logo Spotlight

Report: Apple to Launch These New Products in 2026

Sunday November 2, 2025 5:34 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch at least 15 new products in 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman outlined what to expect from Apple in 2026 in the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter. He said the company is heading "into one of its most pivotal years in recent memory," with the rollout of major new Apple Intelligence features, intense regulatory pressure on the App Store,...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.1 With Liquid Glass Toggle, Slide to Stop Alarm, New Apple Intelligence Languages and More

Monday November 3, 2025 1:11 pm PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.1, the first major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.1 comes over a month after iOS 26 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.1 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings > General >...
apple watch se 3 always on

Apple to Remove iPhone-Apple Watch Wi-Fi Sync in EU With iOS 26.2

Thursday November 6, 2025 4:37 am PST by
Apple in iOS 26.2 will disable automatic Wi-Fi network syncing between iPhone and Apple Watch in the European Union to comply with the bloc's regulations, suggests a new report. Normally, when an iPhone connects to a new Wi-Fi network, it automatically shares the network credentials with the paired Apple Watch. This allows the watch to connect to the same network independently – for...
airtag purple

Apple's Website Lists AirTag 4-Pack at Shockingly Low Price [Updated]

Friday November 7, 2025 6:40 am PST by
Apple's online store in the U.S. is suddenly offering a pack of four AirTags for just $29, which is the same price as a single AirTag. This is likely a pricing error, and it is unclear if orders will be fulfilled. Apple has not discounted the AirTag four-pack in any other countries that we checked. Delivery estimates are already pushing into late November to early December, suggesting...

Top Rated Comments

vtrautia Avatar
20 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
20 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
20 months ago
Apple capitulated once again. Thank you EU for caring about your citizens ❤️??
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
20 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
20 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
20 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)