Facing Billions in DMA Fines, Apple Lets EU iPhone Users Install Apps Outside the App Store

In a race to bypass the penalties that could rise in billions, and with the regulators of Brussels who look closely, Apple agreed to let Europeans download iPhone applications from Apart from its own application shop.

With only hours before a deadline for compliance with the EU, The company said Residents of the 27 -country block will soon be able to enter applications rival markets Or directly on the website of a developer. The change later deploys this year with iOS 18.6 and iPados 18.6, and also allows users to define another browser engine and choose a third -party portfolio at the checkout.

For IPhone owners of the EU every day, this means that the download button could appear in more places than the Apple showcase. After selecting the new parameter, iOS displays a single authorization sheet confirming that you leave the Apple market. The application then passes a rapid notarization analysis intended to eliminate malware. Apple notes that out -of -store downloads only work in the EU and disappear if you stay outside the block for more than 30 days.

Cost for developers

The developers gain a new freedom of distribution, but there is a price. A new price of two -level store services requires 5% of external sales in exchange for basic services such as application notices and support in what is called level 1, or 13% for the full advantages, including automatic updates and promotions of the App Store at level 2.

Apple will take a “basic technology commission” of 5% on any purchase made outside of its own payment system. This new cut will eliminate the current costs of € 0.50 per download and become the only charge through the EU when a unified pricing model arrives on January 1, 2026.

Apple insists that “more than 99%” of the developers will pay or less under almonded mathematics.

Why now?

In April, the European Commission inflicted a fine on Apple 500 million euros ($ 585 million) to block managers of management users with cheaper payment options, and warned that daily sanctions ranging up to 5% of world income could follow if it does not comply.

Throughout the back and forth, Apple accused the commission of “moving the goal posts” on what counts as compliance, with a spokesman saying that the company had invested “Hundreds of thousands of hours” To meet evolutionary requests from the EU.

The CEO of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney, castigated level 5% as a “Malicious compliance scheme” This “laughs at fair competition”.

If the regulators decide that Apple has still not gone far enough, the iPhone manufacturer could face higher sanctions, or even be forced to separate its application activity.