Apple has revealed that it will allow iPad users in the EU to install third-party app stores on their tablets (without having to sideload them) starting September 16. To do so you’ll need to install iPadOS 18, which will be widely available on Monday.
In April, the European Commission designated iPadOS as a “core platform service,” meaning that the operating system, like iOS, the App Store, and Safari, is subject to strict regulations under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act. As TechCrunch notes, Apple had six months to update iPadOS so that it could comply with the DMA, which included opening up the platform to third-party app marketplaces.
Epic Games has already promised to bring its app marketplace to iPadOS, meaning people in the EU will be able to play Fortnite and Fall Guys natively on compatible iPads in the near future. Several other third-party app stores have arrived on iOS in the EU since Apple added official support in March.
While apps like AltStore PAL and the Epic Games Store aren’t subject to Apple’s normal app review policies, the company does notarize them for security purposes. Developers of third-party app marketplaces must also pay Apple a Core Technology Fee once they meet certain thresholds (the EU launched an investigation into this fee in March).
Another significant change coming to iPads with the rollout of iPadOS 18 is unlikely to surface, but it could ultimately change the way EU users browse the web on their iPad. Apple will allow third-party browsers to use their own engines on iPadOS rather than employing its own WebKit.
That means the likes of Mozilla and Google will be able to offer iPad versions of Firefox and Chrome that run on their own technology. Apple posted iOS 18 adoption rates on Friday, which are only slightly different from the numbers for iOS 17 a year ago.
The company says iOS 18 is installed on 68 percent of all iPhones (as of January 21) and 76 percent of models from the past four years. A year ago, 66 percent of all iPhones were running iOS 17, so iOS 18 is up two percent this year. The second stat was pretty similar to today’s data: 76 percent of iPhones from the past four years were running iOS 17 in January 2024. iPad owners aren’t changing dramatically either.
Apple says 53 percent of all iPads are running iPadOS 18 (the same as iPadOS 17 a year ago). And 63 percent of tablets from the past four years are running iPadOS 18. That’s up a notch from the 61 percent of devices from the past four years running iPadOS 17 at the start of last year.