While App Store changes apply to all of Apple's platforms, iPadOS, which doesn't meet DMA thresholds, won't get third-party app stores, browser engines, more
but they may not be enough MacDailyNews : EU threatens Apple with ‘strong action’ if App Store changes fall short Threads: Ian Betteridge / @ianbetteridge : Incredible, petty, insulting to its customers, and undermining the potential of the iPad as a computer. Oh and just one more thing that is likely to lead to a whole rain of pain coming down on Apple's head. The last time I saw whiny teenager behaviour from anyone this bad it was from Donald Trump. … Mastodon: Adam Demasi / @kirb@hachyderm.io : Should I be surprised that Apple are pretending iPadOS is a completely different operating system from iOS, because it runs on a bigger screen and looks slightly different, despite running 99.99% the same code? No? Well good, because I wasn't anyway. … @terhechte@mastodon.social : Fascinating, keeping the iPad a Baby Computer is so important to Apple that they even carved out a special rule such that the EU DMA doesn't apply to the iPad and none of the potential (few as there will probably be) “unfiltered” software will be available for it. … @josh@vickerson.me : I'm not about to switch to the shit show that is Android or anything, but christ, this shit from Apple is really indefensible. — https://9to5mac.com/... X: Thomas Baekdal / @baekdal : You got to be f... kidding me. Someone needs to give Apple a serious whupping. [image] Simonetta Vezzoso / @wavesblog : E.g., „The ability to set default NFC and wallet apps will only be available on the iPhone" Ashley Gullen / @ashleygullen : Now it turns out even the limited, obviously bad faith compliance Apple have come up with, won't even apply to iPad, because apparently that's a whole different operating system. https://9to5mac.com/... Kenneth Auchenberg / @auchenberg : An overlooked detail: EU has not deemed iPads and iPadOS a “gatekeeper platform” under the Digital Markets Act. This means that the upcoming iOS changes won't apply to iPads. At least for now. https://9to5mac.com/... Forums: Hacker News : iPad users will miss out on third-party app stores, browser engines, and more r/GeForceNOW : iPad users will miss out on third-party app stores, browser engines, and more r/technology : iPad users will miss out on third-party app stores, browser engines, and more r/ipad : iPad users will miss out on third-party app stores, browser engines, and more
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple’s EU alternative-store plan introduced a new distribution path alongside a per-install Core Technology Fee, but its availability is defined by the DMA’s gatekeeper scope rather than by Apple’s broader device lineup.
The iPadOS carve-out matters because Apple can preserve a single App Store and browser-engine regime on a device positioned for increasingly desktop-like workflows, despite earlier multitasking improvements aimed at handling multiple app windows.
First-order effects
- iPadOS users and developers do not receive the EU-only third-party app-store or alternative browser-engine options available on covered Apple platforms.
- Apple retains its existing App Store distribution controls on iPadOS, while its DMA compliance work is concentrated on the platforms that meet the law’s thresholds.
Second-order effects
- Developers distributing through alternative EU stores must maintain a separate iPadOS channel, reducing the immediate reach and operational simplicity of those new storefronts.
- Browser vendors and alternative-store operators have less incentive to build iPad-specific offerings when the platform remains outside the same access rules.
Third-order effects
- The case tests whether product boundaries can determine the practical reach of platform regulation: comparable device experiences may face different distribution rules when legal thresholds differ.
- If regulators broaden or reinterpret coverage, Apple’s platform-by-platform compliance design could face pressure for more interface-neutral treatment; the subsequent iOS compliance updates show the rules continuing to shape product settings and defaults.
The trend: DMA enforcement is pushing platform openness through legally defined product categories, producing uneven access across closely related operating systems.