Apple opens iOS to alternative app stores in the EU
Due to the EU’s Digital Markets Act, Apple today announced that it will be making big changes to iOS, the App Store and the way browsers work on the platform. These changes will start in the EU with the release of iOS 17.4, which is expected to arrive in March.
Let’s start with the web browser. You can currently select a default browser that is not Safari. But any alternative browser must use Safari’s WebKit rendering engine. This will change, any browser can use any engine. If iPhones in the EU are running iOS 17.4, you will also see a browser selection screen the first time you open Safari.
Alternative app stores
The much bigger news is that Apple will allow alternative app stores for iOS. Now that the company says this creates “new risks” for its users, it will conduct a “baseline review” of all apps, regardless of their distribution channel. This is a combination of automated checks and human review. This process results in clear descriptions of the apps and their functionality, which are displayed before downloading.
To ensure that developers of alternative app stores “commit to ongoing requirements that help protect users and app developers” Apple will authorize these “marketplace developers.” It also adds additional protections that prevent iOS apps from launching if they are found to contain malware.
However, Apple notes that with the new DMA regulations it has “less ability” to protect users. These include risks such as “apps that contain scams, fraud, and abuse, or that expose users to illicit, objectionable, or harmful content.” The company plans to share more information with customers in March when all of these changes will take effect.
Additionally, Apple needs to open NFC on iPhones in the EU so that alternative wallet and banking apps can use tap-to-pay. And therefore also work as a standard method for mobile payments. The App Store will have new options for using payment processors within a developer’s app. There are also new options for payment processing “via link-out” – transaction for digital goods and services on the developer’s external website.
Users will be informed if an app they have downloaded uses alternative payment processing. You will also receive a notification if Apple’s payment process switches to an alternative payment processor. There will be a separate new app review process for this.
Cost
Going forward, Apple iOS apps in the App Store in the EU will pay either a 10% commission (“for the vast majority of developers, and subscriptions following their first year”) or 17% on transactions for digital goods and services. Additionally, a 3% payment processing fee will be charged for those apps that choose to retain App Store payment processing. And finally, iOS apps “distributed from the App Store and/or an alternative app marketplace will pay €0.50 for each first annual install per year over a 1 million threshold” as a “core technology fee.”
According to Apple, 99% of developers will reduce or maintain the fees they owe to Apple. In addition, less than 1% will have to pay the Core Technology Fee described above. For apps on iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS in the EU, developers who process payments through a third party or through a link to their website will receive a 3% discount on Apple’s commission.
