Apple reportedly won’t bring European App Store changes to other markets

If you’re using an iPhone in the United States and are looking forward to being able to download apps outside of the App Store, you’re going to be left sorely disappointed. That’s if a new report by a usually well-connected reporter turns out to be accurate.

With Apple set to comply with a Digital Markets Act (DMA) requirement to allow sideloading of iPhone apps in European Union member states by 7 March 2024, there was some hope that the same change would take place globally. However, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman now reports that won’t be the case at all — and instead, Apple will choose to effectively split the App Store in two to ringfence the EU version from that used elsewhere.

Sideloading will be an EU-only feature

Gurman was writing in the paywalled version of his weekly Power On newsletter for Bloomberg when he confirmed that the EU’s rules will not benefit those outside of the territory, with Apple instead “splitting the App Store in two.” The Verge reported on Gurman’s comments.

Backing up slightly, the DMA had originally told Apple that it would need to allow sideloading — and as a result, third-party apps — on the iPhone starting 7 March but the company hadn’t been clear about how it intended to make that happen. There was a hope that this would be the impetus Apple needed to finally allow people to install iPhone apps from third-party sources globally, but Gurman suggests that won’t be the case. Apple has been working on making this a reality for more than a year of course, and sideloading was rumored to be part of iOS 17 as far back as December 2022.

If Gurman is correct, those who use the App Store outside of the EU will notice no change to their iPhones or the way they install apps, games, and more. However, everyone who lives in an EU member country will be able to get their apps wherever they like, including stores operated by other companies. That alone could open the door to a sea change in iPhone gaming with Epic, Valve, and others potentially able to offer games via their own stores for the first time.

Apple is yet to confirm its plans but we can expect to hear more in the coming weeks as we edge closer to the big March deadline. It’s likely Apple will release a new software update to facilitate the App Store and sideloading tweaks, too. Until then — and even after, if you’re outside the EU — the App Store is the only way you can install apps on your iPhone.