Apple confirms that EU iPads will get sideloading apps later this year

Following a recent decision by the European Commission to expand its Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into force in November 2024, to include Apple's iPad and iPad OS, Apple has been required to meet the regulations set out in the DMA within the next six months. However, according to MacRumors, Apple has confirmed that it will be introducing the same changes that it made to iOS with iOS 17.4 to iPadOS later this year.

These changes include the ability to download apps from websites, install and use third-party app marketplaces, and also includes prompts to set default applications for key services such as web browsing (something that Microsoft has had to do in the past). Apple has included safeguards within any app that is available on the platforms, which requires a baseline security and privacy review prior to running on the OS to ensure that it still has some element of control over what can and cannot run on its hardware.

Given the implementation method for iPhones being limited to those within the EU (and the feature disabling after a set amount of time outside the region), it's expected that the implementation on iPadOS will be consistent as there are a lot of similarities between the two platforms which shared the same iOS branding until iPadOS 13.1 in 2019.

With WWDC 2024 coming soon from June 10 to 14, 2024, the expectation is that the next version of both iOS and iPadOS will be announced with first betas to follow shortly after that. These would be iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 respectively, with the newest versions rumoured to run generative AI features among other updates across the board. Additionally, there are new iPad models expected to be announced at the "Let Loose" iPad event on May 7, 2024, which are rumoured to include OLED panels and an AI-capable M4 chip.

Source: MacRumors

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