European iPad users can download from third-party app stores starting next week

Apple will let iPad users in the European Union download apps from alternative app marketplaces starting next week, coinciding with the release of iPadOS 18 on September 16th. The change comes after the iPad operating system was designated a “core platform service” in April under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), the same rules that forced the company to allow third-party app stores on iPhones earlier this year.

A handful of third-party app stores have already launched for iPhone users in the EU, such as Setapp Mobile, AltStore PAL, and the new Epic Games Store, which has committed to supporting iPads this year. So hold tight, Fortnite fans. You’ll soon have a larger display option for on-the-go gaming.

Apple had six months to ensure iPadOS was compliant with DMA obligations, which include allowing users in the EU to download apps from outside of the Apple App Store, uninstall preloaded iPad apps, and choose their own default apps like browsers. It also opens up iPadOS, like iOS, to apps that use alternative browser engines other than WebKit, but we’re still waiting for someone like Google to take advantage of that.

The iPhone maker initially argued that iPadOS didn’t meet the required user threshold for the DMA, but it was nonetheless determined to be an “important gateway on which many companies rely to reach their customers,” according to EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager.