Apple will allow iPhone app downloads from websites in Europe

IPhone users in the European Union will be able to download apps from websites instead of through the App Store or a rival app store app, Apple said, in the latest change imposed by the European Commission’s Digital Markets Act.

This is a big turn for An apple. The company has for years fought against web downloads of iPhone software — often called sideloading — citing security concerns and Apple’s right to dictate its user experience.

Tuesday’s announcement is the latest example of the Digital Marketplace Act forcing Apple to make long-resisted changes to its App Store business processes. The DMA aims to force the “gatekeepers” — big tech companies, including Apple — to open up their platforms to smaller competitors.

The web download program will start later this spring and requires developers to meet “specific criteria”, such as having an app with over 1 million downloads in Europe. Apple will still collect a fee, the announcement said.

Apple said companies can also offer an iPhone app store in Europe, as long as it only offers access to one company’s apps.

“Distributing apps directly from a website requires responsibility and oversight of the user experience, including the ability to manage apps and provide customer support and refunds,” Apple said on a support page posted Tuesday. “Apple will authorize developers once they meet specific criteria and commit to current requirements that help protect users.”

Under the DMA, Apple was forced to allow third-party app stores in Europe, reinstated the developer account of antitrust adversary Epic Games amid a legal dispute, and waived the ban web app shortcuts on iPhone home screen. Apple’s moves show that the European Commission will be able to successfully regulate Apple in the region by threatening fines and other actions for non-compliance.

European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said the European Commission is investigating Apple rivals like Spotify — which backed Apple to be hit with a recent EU fine of $1.95 billion over a related app store practice called management — for to ensure that Apple’s new policies comply with the spirit of the law.

“We will want to hear from third parties,” Vestager told CNBC on Monday. “Are they getting what the DMA is supposed to give them, which is an open market?”

Apple still plans to charge a fee of fifty euro cents for app downloads outside of its App Store, including web app downloads. Apple’s App Store fees are a profit center for the company, accounted for in the company’s services business, which brought in $78 billion in sales in the company’s 2023 fiscal year, including subscriptions and other items.

The company said Europe accounts for about 7% of Apple App Store revenue.