Apple has published a Developer Update today that confirms that alternative app markets will be made available on iPadOS 18 starting September 16. This change brings the iPad into compliance with the European Union"s (EU) Digital Markets Act (DMA), which was expanded to include Apple"s tablet range in April 2024.
This follows the initial ruling by the EU, which meant that third-party App Stores had to be implemented on any iPhone in the EU. Apple made that possible in March 2024 when it released iOS 17.4. The change allows users within the bloc to download iOS apps through alternative distribution methods, as well as making use of alternative browser engines instead of being limited to Safari (WebKit) only.
Whether this continues to drive more app markets and whether any alternative web browsers begin to launch for both iOS and iPadOS following this change remains to be seen, as a handful of third-party app stores have been introduced in the region since the change was implemented.
What is interesting to note is that Apple does not appear to be bringing this functionality to earlier versions of iPadOS, which will be superseded when iPadOS 18 launches on the same date, suggesting that Apple is keeping this functionality only to the latest version of iPadOS. iPadOS 18 is compatible with the following iPads:
- iPad Pro (M4)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later)
- iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later)
- iPad Air (M2)
- iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
- iPad (7th generation and later)
- iPad mini (5th generation and later)
Apple"s latest adoption figures for iPadOS 17 report it running on 77% of all devices introduced in the last four years, with 15% still running on iPadOS 16 and 8% still running an earlier version of iPadOS. iPadOS 18 will be available to all supported iPads on September 16, 2024.