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- Apple announced Tuesday that iPhone users in the EU will be able to download apps from its website.
- This is the latest change forced by the European Commission’s Digital Markets Act.
- Apple has been fighting web downloads of software, known as sideloading, for years.
According to Apple, the latest changes forced by the European Commission’s Digital Markets Act will allow iPhone users in the European Union to download apps from the website without going through the App Store or competing App Store apps. It is said to become.
This is a big reversal for Apple. The company has long fought against web downloads of iPhone software, often called sideloading, citing security issues and Apple’s right to dictate the user experience.
Tuesday’s announcement is the latest example of the Digital Markets Act forcing changes to the App Store’s business processes that Apple has long resisted. The DMA is intended to force “gatekeepers” (big tech companies, including Apple) to open up their platforms to smaller rivals.
The web download program is expected to launch later this spring and will require developers to meet “certain criteria” such as having an app that has been downloaded more than 1 million times in Europe. Apple says it plans to continue collecting fees.
Apple said companies can offer app stores for the iPhone in Europe as long as they only provide access to one company’s apps.
“Distributing apps directly from your website requires responsibility and oversight of the user experience, including managing the app and providing customer support and refunds,” Apple said in a support page posted Tuesday. “Apple approves developers after they meet certain standards and adhere to ongoing requirements that help protect our users.”
Under the DMA, Apple will be forced to allow third-party app stores in Europe, reinstate the developer account of antitrust violator Epic Games amid a legal dispute, and restrict access to web apps on iPhone’s main screen. The ban on shortcuts has been lifted. Apple’s move suggests that the European Commission could successfully regulate Apple in the region by threatening fines and other measures for violations.
European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said the European Commission recently imposed a $1.95 billion EU fine on Apple’s rivals, such as Spotify, in connection with an app store practice called steering. Apple’s new policy is compliant with the following standards: spirit of the law.
“We would like to hear from third parties,” Vestager told CNBC on Monday. “Are they getting what the DMA is supposed to provide: a public market?”
Apple will continue to charge a 50 euro cents fee for app downloads outside the App Store, including web app downloads. Apple’s App Store fees are the center of the company’s profits, and the company’s fiscal 2023 revenue, which includes subscriptions and other items, was $78 billion, according to a report from the company’s services business.
The company said Europe accounts for about 7% of Apple’s App Store revenue.
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