A new analysis by the EU Commission sees a high level of use of iPadOS among business users. But Apple should also discourage consumers from switching to other tablet operating systems.
The European Union has Apple’s iPadOS classified as a gatekeeper platform. The tablet operating system is now subject to the strict requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The rules, which are intended, among other things, to ensure consumer choice, have been in effect for the iPhone operating system, Safari and the App Store since September last year.
Among other things, Apple now allows third-party app marketplaces and browser engines other than WebKit for iOS. However, some of the adjustments made by the iPhone manufacturer have been criticized as insufficient.
Last year, the EU decided that iPadOS did not meet the quantitative criteria for a gatekeeper platform. In a reassessment, the commission now came to the conclusion that the number of business users exceeds the quantitative threshold by a factor of eleven. The threshold has almost been reached for consumers – the EU believes that the number of users should increase in the near future.
“Apple is using its large ecosystem to discourage end users from switching to other operating systems for tablets,” the EU said. “Business customers are committed to iPadOS because it has a large and commercially attractive user base and is designed for specific use cases, such as: B. game apps, is important.”
“The Digital Markets Act is a dynamic tool that allows us to address the realities of digital markets. Today we added Apple’s iPadOS to the scope of the DMA obligations. Our market research has shown that, despite not meeting the thresholds, iPadOS represents an important gateway through which many companies reach their customers,” said Margrethe Vestager, Vice President of the EU Commission. “Today’s decision will ensure fairness and contestability are maintained on this platform, in addition to the 22 other services we designated last September. Apple has six months to bring iPadOS into compliance with the DMA.”