The European Commission designated iPadOS as a gatekeeper at the beginning of the week under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). According to sources, Apple will not fight the decision and is planning to open the operating system to third-party app stores.
Cupertino did not announce a specific date when that would happen, but the company has a six-month period to comply, which ends on October 28.
Apple already opened iOS to third-party app stores in all 27 European Union member states. Interestingly enough, the company won’t fight the Commission’s decision and will have to transfer the changes made for iOS to iPad OS.
Cupertino added one further consideration to its third-party app support and the Core Technology Fee, which is tied to how many times an app is first installed during a year. According to Apple, if a user installs the same application on their iPhone and iPad within the same year, it will count as a single install.