European iPad users can download from third-party app stores starting next week

Apple will let iPad users in the European Union download apps from alternative app marketplaces starting next week, coinciding with the release of iPadOS 18 on September 16th. The change comes after the iPad operating system was designated a “core platform service” in April under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) — the same rules that forced the company to allow third-party app stores on iPhones earlier this year.