Key Points:
- The Digital Markets Act’s Commission has marked iPadOS as the new gatekeeper, which has dramatically changed the way Apple deals with third-party app stores. As a result, Apple has been “forced” to open the iPadOS platform.
- Apple announced they plan to make sure to decompliantly to the order, whereas they expect to be done by October 28th to put these changes in place.
- This action comes after Apple gave the green light for third-party app stores in all member states of the EU (the 27 EU countries) previously. Such a move suggests that the company is shifting course on regulating third-party app ecosystem.
The European regulation is Apple’s lawsuit which represents the turning point in the relationship the IT giant holds with regulators. The choice to give three-party app stores access to iPadOS is the company’s keen shift from the past policy that maintains limited control over the operating systems. While Cupertino has yet to put a right-away date for the move, this deadline demands swift actions, so timelines should be set soon.
Notably, though, Apple should pursue this legwork of the guideline throughout the whole iPadOS; the mobile operating system needs to also receive these tweaks rather than only apply to iOS. Additionally, the fact that the Core Technology Fee is changed by Apple in the way app installations across multiple devices are calculated makes us presume that introducing a new source of revenue and changing the existing pricing models became its aim as a business venture in response to the regulatory pressure.
Such a move signals a brand new time of rivalry and deposition within Apple’s app system with the opportunity to transform the digital marketplace.
