Apple’s revolutionary changes. The end of the App Store monopoly. Other app stores will come to iPhones

Already in March this year. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) will come into force in the European Union, the aim of which is to limit the dominant position of technology giants such as Google, Facebook and Apple. Companies covered by new regulations have less and less time to introduce a number of changes in their operations. This is mainly about opening previously tightly closed ecosystems so that smaller companies can compete with them on the digital services market.

Apple opens the App Store to competitors. This is a revolutionary change

It was known from the very beginning that one of the companies that would be most affected by the new regulations would be Apple. It is no secret that the Cupertino giant has been doing everything for years to limit third-party companies’ access to its services, such as the App Store. Apple explained (and still explains) this for security reasons and concern for user privacy. And of course this is an argument. There is no doubt, however, that it was mainly for financial reasons.

Now, however, thanks to DMA, Apple has been forced to introduce fundamental changes to its ecosystem, although only in the European Union.

The changes we are announcing today comply with the requirements of the Digital Markets Act in the European Union, while helping to protect users in the EU from the unavoidable increased privacy and security risks brought by this regulation. Our priority remains to provide the best and safest possible experience for our users in the EU and around the world

–

What excites everyone the most is, of course, the opening of iOS to alternative app stores, which means the end of the App Store monopoly. We will be able to download alternative app stores from their owners’ websites and will not be subject to Apple’s content restrictions.

Of course, this does not mean that any developer will be able to put their store on iOS. Companies will have to go through a certification process, which includes, among others: presentation of a letter of credit for an amount of at least EUR 1 million. Alternative store owners will also pay certain commissions to Apple. However, developers who place their applications in alternative stores will (probably) not have to pay Apple. This is a very beneficial change. It is no secret that the Redmond company collects very high commissions for applications offered in the App Store, ranging from 15 to 30 percent.

One of the companies that will benefit most from the opening of iOS is Epic. This means that iPhone users will be able to play Fortnite again (via an alternative launcher), which was blocked by Apple a few years ago. In fact, it became the starting point

The opening of the iOS ecosystem also means that services offering game streaming, such as Microsoft xCloud or the new GeForce from Nvidia, will be available on the Apple platform. “Developers can now submit a single app with the ability to stream all the games offered in their catalog,” Apple said.

This is not the end of the changes. BLIK soon on iOS?

However, this is not the end of changes in Apple services related to the entry into force of EU DMA regulations. It turns out that in addition to alternative app stores, iOS will also offer payment services alternative to Apple Pay, such as Google Pay or the Polish BLIK.

The new version of iOS 17 will also enable the installation of browsers using engines other than WebKiT. This means that full-fledged versions of Google Chrome and Firefox browsers will finally be available on iPhones, not just Safari overlays.

With a full list of changes made