Apple to Allow iPad Users in EU to Download Apps From Third-Party App Stores From September 16
Apple has announced it will allow iPad apps to be sold via third-party app stores in the European Union from Monday, September 16, coinciding with the release of iPadOS 18.
The move follows Apple's tolerance in the bloc for alternative app stores on iPhones, which happened earlier this year in compliance with the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Apple's iPad operating system was designated by the European Commission as a "core platform service" in April under the rules of the DMA, joining iOS, the App Store, and Safari.
Although iPadOS user numbers fell below the threshold for inclusion under the DMA, the Commission retains some flexibility in its designations and noted significant lock-in effects, especially for business users. The Commission gave Apple six months to update iPadOS and make it compliant with the DMA. Apple later confirmed that it would bring all of the app ecosystem changes made to iOS in the European Union to iPadOS in the fall.
After installing iPadOS 18, iPad users in the EU will be able to install alternative app stores, while developers will be able to release alternative browsers based on their own browser engines, instead of Apple's WebKit.
Currently there are a handful of third-party app marketplaces available to iPhone users in the EU. One of them, Epic Games, has already said that it plans to bring Fortnite and its other games to iPad. Other enforced changes include allowing users to delete Apple's pre-loaded apps, and choose alternative default apps, including browsers.
Popular Stories
In addition to updating many of its existing products, Apple is expected to unveil five all-new products this year, including a smart home hub, a Face ID doorbell, a MacBook with an A18 Pro chip, a foldable iPhone, and augmented reality glasses.
Below, we have recapped rumored features for each product.
Smart Home Hub
Apple home hub (concept)
Apple's long-rumored smart home hub should...
Apple is planning to debut a high-end secondary version of AirPods Pro 3 this year, sitting in the lineup alongside the current model, reports suggest.
Back in September 2025, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to introduce a successor to the AirPods Pro 3 in 2026. This would be somewhat unusual since Apple normally waits around three years to make major...
Apple is working on a small, wearable AI pin equipped with multiple cameras, a speaker, and microphones, reports The Information. If it actually launches, the AI pin will likely run the new Siri chatbot that Apple plans to unveil in iOS 27.
The pin is said to be similar in size to an AirTag, with a thin, flat, circular disc shape. It has an aluminum and glass shell, and two cameras at the...
Over the last few months, rumors around the iPhone 18 Pro's front-panel design have been conflicted, with some supply-chain leaks pointing to under-display Face ID, reports suggesting a top-left hole-punch camera, and debate over whether the familiar Dynamic Island will shrink, shift, or disappear entirely.
Today, Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital shared new details that appear to clarify the ...
The Apple supplier subject to a major cyberattack last month was China's Luxshare, it has now emerged. More than 1TB of confidential Apple information was reportedly stolen.
It was reported in December that one of Apple's assemblers suffered a significant cyberattack that may have compromised sensitive production-line information and manufacturing data linked to Apple. The specific company...
