How the EU's DMA could impact Apple and Google's rivalry; sources say Google lobbied EU officials in 2023 to let users download apps from alternative app stores
Under the new rules, the iPhone maker will open up parts of its lucrative app ecosystem, providing an opportunity for rivals like Google
Context & Ripple Effects
The DMA’s opening of Apple’s app ecosystem turns a long-standing distribution boundary into a competition issue: Google is positioned to benefit from alternative app-store access on the iPhone, while Apple must adapt a previously closed channel. The reported 2023 lobbying shows that this access question was contested before the rules took effect.
The dispute quickly broadened from store access to the rules governing how developers can direct users to other payment or download options, culminating in EU findings that Apple’s anti-steering rules did not comply with the DMA. Later coverage also shows the DMA being used to press for broader iOS access for third-party connected devices, extending the principle beyond app distribution.
First-order effects
- Apple must permit alternative app stores under the DMA, reducing its exclusive control over iPhone app distribution in the EU.
- Google and other potential store operators gain an opening to reach iPhone users through channels that previously depended on Apple’s App Store.
Second-order effects
- Developers gain more leverage over distribution and user routing, while Apple must compete to keep developers and users within its own store experience.
- Google’s lobbying highlights that platform rivals may treat mandated access as a competitive distribution route, not merely a compliance obligation for Apple.
Third-order effects
- If enforcement remains broad, the DMA could shift mobile competition from control of a single storefront toward regulator-defined terms for access, steering and interoperability.
- The Apple-Google rivalry may increasingly be shaped by reciprocal access mandates: later DMA disputes have already extended scrutiny to Google’s search and app practices as well as Apple’s iOS controls.
The trend: The DMA is recasting mobile platforms from self-contained gatekeepers into regulated distribution layers where rivals can seek access to users and developers.