Gurman: Apple prepares to split its App Store in two to serve the EU, as the deadline for the DMA, which mandates sideloading support, looms on March 7
EU version to be split in two before March 7 deadline Tsveta Ermenkova / PhoneArena : Apple might split its App Store in two to comply with EU regulations Devesh Beri / MSPoweruser : Divide and conquer? Apple to split App Store in two to meet EU regulations Ali Salman / Wccftech : Apple Plans to Break The App Store in Two to Implement App Sideloading on The iPhone, as Deadline Approaches Fast Abdullah / Gizchina : Apple's App Store to Undergo Major Changes: What You Need to Know Malcolm Owen / AppleInsider : Apple prepares to enable sideloading and App Store changes in EU Karandeep Oberoi / MobileSyrup : Apple will reportedly launch a separate App Store in EU to allow sideloading David Joseppi / The Apple Post : App Store to be ‘split in two’ before EU iPhone sideloading deadline Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac : Apple reportedly ready to enable sideloading for iOS users in the EU Sam Altman / Times of India : Apple may be planning on ‘splitting the App Store in two’, here's why Oliver Haslam / Pocket-lint : Apple reportedly won't bring European App Store changes to other markets Jon Porter / The Verge : Don't hold your breath for Apple's EU App Store changes to be available globally. Threads: Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : Big techs are scrambling to hit the March 7th deadline to comply with the EU's DMA. Google already announced allowing users to opt out of linking accounts across services last week. Apple is expected to allow side loading of apps and repeal ban on apps telling users they can buy IAPs outside the app to avoid Apple's 30% fee. The divergence between the online experience of EU versus US users is increasing such that they are practically two internets. Cookie banners were just the beginning. Mastodon: Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life@mas.to : Big techs are scrambling to hit the March 7th deadline to comply with the EU's DMA. Google already announced allowing users to opt out of linking accounts across services last week. — Apple is expected to allow side loading of apps and repeal ban on apps telling users they can buy IAPs outside the app to avoid Apple's 30% fee. … Alex Russell / @slightlyoff@toot.cafe : This is of a piece: Apple's goal is to constrain the pro-consumer and pro-business consequences of the DMA and make them inoperable through inconvenience. The hope is to flip the script and get users to blame the EC, rather than thank it. Same move as they tried in the Netherlands. … @rileytestut@mastodon.social : Instead, I think Apple will require companies to apply for an “app store” entitlement. Apps with this entitlement will be able to install other apps, and also be installed directly from Safari. — All other apps will have to be installed through a 3rd party store @rileytestut@mastodon.social : If we do see true 3rd party app stores, I doubt they'll be distributed through the App Store. That would imply that these stores could install and update other apps, but would have to go through App Review *themselves* for every update X: Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : Big techs are scrambling to hit the March 7th deadline to comply with the EU's DMA. Apple is expected to allow side loading of apps and repeal ban on apps telling users they can buy IAPs outside the app to avoid Apple's 30% fee. Tough times for Tim 🍎 https://www.macrumors.com/... @appcensorship : Quite a move, @Apple. Why implement a global improvement when you can limit it to those who arguably need it the least? The EU gets sideloading, while the rest of the world waits. So much for universal access and equality in tech innovation. #DigitalDivide @AppStore #censorship @rkobylinski : Still think this is really bad news for consumers in the EU. And really hope I am wrong and Apple figured out how to comply w/o compromising security and UX. Evan Bacon / @baconbrix : To all the Open App Store skeptics, consider: 1) How many macOS apps do you download through the Mac App Store vs. web pages/zip files? 2) How many viruses/security issues does your Mac have? The iOS App Store should compete on merit—not on fear, uncertainty, and doubt. @appltrack : The iPhone will be updated to allow sideloading “in the coming weeks”, according to @markgurman 📲‼️ It will only be available in the EU initially, and the App Store there will be a different version than anywhere else. [image] Forums: Hacker News : App store to be ‘split in two’ ahead of EU iPhone sideloading deadline: report Msmash / Slashdot : App Store To Be ‘Split in Two’ Ahead of EU iPhone Sideloading Deadline MacRumors Forums : App Store to Be ‘Split in Two’ Ahead of EU iPhone Sideloading Deadline
Context & Ripple Effects
The reported EU-only split is an early implementation step in Apple’s response to the DMA, separating a regulated distribution model from its broader App Store operations. It was soon followed by Apple’s announced framework for alternative EU app stores, including a per-install Core Technology Fee.
The split matters because it makes compliance a product and commercial-design problem, not merely a policy change. Later coverage of expanded EU device-choice and default-app controls shows the App Store change was part of a wider set of platform adjustments.
First-order effects
- Apple must build and operate distinct EU App Store rules and distribution pathways ahead of the DMA deadline, while EU iPhone users gain a route to apps outside Apple’s store.
- Developers targeting EU users must evaluate alternative-store access and Apple’s new compliance terms rather than relying on one global iOS distribution model.
Second-order effects
- Alternative app-store operators and developers gain an opening to test distribution and payment models that were previously unavailable on iOS in the EU; Apple’s fee design will shape whether that opening is economically viable.
- The division creates a compliance boundary that can add operational complexity for developers serving both EU and non-EU users, while concentrating regulatory scrutiny on Apple’s implementation choices.
Third-order effects
- If enforced over time, the DMA shifts competition from access to iOS toward the terms of access: fees, review processes, technical permissions, and the practical usability of alternative channels.
- The subsequent overhaul of EU store terms and payment-link rules suggests that regulatory compliance will be iterative, with platform economics and product rules repeatedly adjusted under pressure from developers and regulators.
The trend: This is one step in the regional unbundling of gatekeeper platforms, where regulation forces globally integrated app ecosystems to offer distinct local rules and commercial terms.