Apple says warnings on EU App Store listings for apps not using IAP have been up since March 2024, and the EU told it to hold off on tweaks that Apple proposed
[images] Joe Rosensteel / @joesteel@duck.haus : That list is terrible. The check mark being on the right and the text on the left .. it's not giving “clarity.” — There are some big Home app vibes in the interface that I do not like. In particular, the laggy sliders that don't have notches or steps to indicate levels but the up and down arrows (when present) are stepped? … Jonathan Reed / @jonathanreed@techhub.social : @joesteel Haha, yeah, he's definitely being fed a lot of lines. When he said you can still use all the climate, etc buttons in the middle section, I thought, 'what's the point of using CarPlay for that, then? Buttons are far easier!' — It's all very odd. Very pretty. But odd. Joe Rosensteel / @joesteel@duck.haus : @jonathanreed TopGear tried it out, but it feels like Apple reps are hovering out frame so hardly a rigorous critique https://youtu.be/...
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple’s EU App Store changes have unfolded as a broader DMA-compliance program: it introduced alternative stores with a Core Technology Fee and later expanded rules for developers linking to web purchases in its EU web-purchase linking rules.
The dispute here is narrower but consequential: Apple says its warning treatment for non-IAP apps has been in place since March 2024, while the EU has asked it not to implement Apple’s proposed listing changes. It leaves the presentation of payment choices under regulatory scrutiny even as Apple has also adjusted browser and default-app settings in the EU.
First-order effects
- Apple must keep the existing EU App Store warning treatment in place for now rather than deploy its proposed revisions.
- Developers that do not use Apple IAP remain subject to the current listing presentation, which can shape how users perceive their payment options at the point of download.
Second-order effects
- The EU’s intervention keeps App Store disclosure design—not just fees or permissions—within the practical scope of compliance, raising the stakes for Apple’s next proposal.
- Developers using external purchase paths have less certainty over how those paths will be presented while Apple and EU regulators work through the listing approach.
Third-order effects
- If this pattern persists, DMA compliance will increasingly turn on the user-interface details that govern discoverability and choice, alongside formal access to alternative stores and payment routes.
- The outcome could establish whether platform warnings are treated as neutral consumer information or as a competitive constraint on alternatives; that boundary remains unresolved in this account.
The trend: European platform regulation is moving from opening formal distribution and payment options to testing whether their in-app presentation gives users meaningful choice.