Shortly after Apple announced the changes coming for its platform after the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) took effect, a new policy from Cupertino was modified and would not apply to the iPad. Apple effected these changes for the iOS and the iPhone which will arrive by iOS 17, but gets a workaround for the iPad platform as not all of the changes are coming to the iPadOS.
This is despite the iOS and the iPadOS featuring almost the same technology and likeness for users, with a list of changes recently clarified by the Big Tech.
Apple Changes Policy in the EU, iPad Not to Get Sideloading
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Apple's latest announcement regarding the changes coming for the EU was already prepping the world on what to expect from their technology, but there are several key things that it clarified not to see the application of the revamp. First off, 9to5 Mac said that Apple recently clarified the changes to be affected on its tech, and the iPad is not part of all modifications made by Cupertino to adhere to the EU law.
The iPad platform is not getting sideloading, and this applies to all of the devices on the lineup, with the third-party apps still only accessible on the Apple App Store.
Reportedly, Apple divided their new changes to be specific, based on a technicality that the iOS is different from the iPadOS by name, and this is considered to be different by the European Commission.
iOS vs. iPadOS: There's a Difference but Many Similarities
Thanks to this technicality, there is now a difference for iPad users to experience under the EU's DMA, and this is despite both sharing the same codebase.
Some of the changes, apart from not allowing sideloading, include:
Safari's default browser engine prompt is exclusive to the iPhone
Setting default NFC and wallet apps are exclusive to the iPhone
Third-party browser engines are only for the iPhone
Apple's Changes Coming for the European Region
The European Commission's policy and laws for the Digital Markets Act are slowly taking effect and that means Apple has applied several changes to the way it operates in the region.
Some of these changes will arrive come iOS 17.4, especially as iOS was declared by the governing body to be a "gatekeeper" platform alongside the infamous Apple App Store. Alongside this, Apple was reportedly planning to still charge developers an extra fee for offering sideloaded apps to customers, with the rules of the App Store applying to developers in the region.
However, not all are bad as the renowned Apple Pay service is finally letting go of its exclusive hold on the iPhone's NFC chips and third-party developers and companies may use it for their tap-to-pay service.
Many protests against what Apple changes in this latest adherence to the DMA, with the company forced to comply or face massive fines and penalties should they be caught doing so. Still, there is a technicality it exploited, and this is the difference between the iOS and iPadOS, with iPad users not getting the full ride of the DMA's changes for Apple which centers on the top features like sideloading.
