Most of these changes only apply to Europe.
To comply with European Union regulations, Apple has introduced sweeping changes that make iOS and Apple’s other operating systems more open. The changes are far-reaching and touch many parts of the user experience on the iPhone. They’ll be coming as part of iOS 17.4 in March.
Apple will introduce “new APIs and tools that enable developers to offer their iOS apps for download from alternative app marketplaces,” as well as a new framework and set of APIs that allow third parties to set up and manage those stores—essentially new forms of apps that can download other apps without going through the App Store. That includes the ability to manage updates for other developers’ apps that are distributed through the marketplaces.
The company will also offer APIs and a new framework for third-party web browsers to use browser engines other than Safari’s WebKit. Until now, browsers like Chrome and Firefox were still built on top of Apple’s tech. They essentially were mobile Safari, but with bookmarks and other features tied to alternative desktop browsers.
The changes also extend to NFC technology and contactless payments. Previously, only Apple Pay could fully access those features on the iPhone. Now, Apple will introduce new APIs that will let developers of banking and wallet apps gain more comparable access.Advertisement
Developers will have new options for using alternative payment service providers within apps and for directing users to complete payments on external websites via link-outs. They’ll be able to use their apps to tell users about promotions and deals that are offered outside of those apps. (Apple warns that it will not be able to provide refunds or support for customers who purchased something outside its own payment system.)
Apple says it will give users in the European Union the ability to pick default App Stores or default contactless payment apps, just like they already can for email clients or web browsers. EU users will be prompted to pick a default browser when they first open Safari in iOS 17.4 or later, too.
Developers can “submit additional requests for interoperability with iPhone and iOS hardware and software features” via a new form.
All of the above changes impact only the EU; Apple won’t bring them to the United States or other regions at this time. There is one notable change that extends beyond Europe, though: Apple says that “developers can now submit a single app with the capability to stream all of the games offered in their catalog.” That opens the door for services like Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass or Nvidia’s GeForce Now.
Apple notes that “each experience made available in an app on the App Store will be required to adhere to all App Store Review Guidelines,” which could still pose some barriers for game streamers.
Apple is making these changes under protest
Apple announced this shift to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), wide-ranging antitrust legislation that among other things seeks to make software distribution platforms fairer for developers. Apple is appealing the legislation, but it still has to comply by the current March 6, 2024, deadline.
Apple’s public communications related to the changes are filled with statements telling users that the company’s platforms will become less secure and less safe as a result, echoing the public reasoning behind the company’s past resistance to the regulation.
“The changes we’re announcing today comply with the Digital Markets Act’s requirements in the European Union, while helping to protect EU users from the unavoidable increased privacy and security threats this regulation brings. Our priority remains creating the best, most secure possible experience for our users in the EU and around the world,” Apple Fellow Phil Schiller said in a statement.
The company’s newsroom post announcing the shift notes that it will release resources to “help EU users navigate the complexities the DMA’s changes bring—including a less intuitive user experience—and best practices for approaching new risks associated with downloading apps and processing payments outside of the App Store.”
Safeguards and compromises
While Apple will follow the letter of the law regarding the DMA, it says it will also introduce what it calls safeguards and protections to reduce risks to users “within the DMA’s constraints.”
All iOS apps will have to be notarized, regardless of whether they are distributed on Apple’s own App Store or an alternative marketplace. That means a “baseline review” by both human beings and automated systems “focused on platform integrity and protecting users.”Advertisement
Marketplace developers will have to gain authorization to make sure they “commit to ongoing requirements that help protect users and developers.”
Apple says that some iOS apps may sometimes be prevented from launching if they have been shown to contain malware. It will also provide users with “app installation sheets” built on information gathered during the notarization step.
Additionally, the controversial App Tracking Transparency pop-up will still be required for apps distributed in alternative marketplaces.
The kicker: New business terms
To participate in any of the newly announced capabilities within the EU, developers must agree to new business terms set out by Apple. If they don’t want to agree to the new terms, they can continue under the old terms and follow the same rules they have needed to before.
The new terms include a reduced commission of either 10 percent or 17 percent on transactions on apps sold within the Apple App Store and a requirement that developers pay an additional 3 percent fee to use the App Store’s payment processing.
Most importantly, Apple will introduce the “Core Technology Fee,” wherein “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.”
Apple claims it introduced these new fees to accurately reflect the value the company offers to developers in terms of developing the hardware install base, providing and maintaining the tech stack on which iPhone apps are built, and distribution and discovery possibilities on the App Store.
Critics are far from satisfied
If Apple had introduced the new capabilities and opened these doors without those new business terms, it’s likely many of the critics who cheered the DMA on would be more or less satisfied. But the new terms significantly sour the deal.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, who has been waging a legal war against Apple in the United States over these issues for a couple of years now, wasn’t impressed.
“Apple’s plan to thwart Europe’s new Digital Markets Act law is a devious new instance of Malicious Compliance,” he wrote on X. “They are forcing developers to choose between App Store exclusivity and the store terms, which will be illegal under DMA, or accept a new also-illegal anticompetitive scheme rife with new Junk Fees on downloads and new Apple taxes on payments they don’t process.”
He also writes that he sees Apple’s ability to gatekeep marketplaces as a blank check for the company to push away competitors it doesn’t want, including Sweeney’s own Epic Game Store if they felt threatened by it. “Epic has always supported the notion of Apple notarization and malware scanning for apps, but we strongly reject Apple’s twisting this process to undermine competition and continue imposing Apple taxes on transactions they’re not involved in,” he added.Advertisement
Like Sweeney, he says that Apple’s new plan “forces developers to choose between two anticompetitive and illegal options.”
Apple’s new terms will likely be challenged and continue to evolve in the coming months, but exactly how much and in which ways remains to be seen. It will take some time for developers and users to parse the mountain of terms and changes Apple has introduced here. It’s ultimately up to EU regulators to decide whether Apple is complying with the DMA here.
You can dive in by reading Apple’s developer documentation on the new EU policies as well as its lengthy consumer-facing newsroom post on the issue.
