It’s official. The operating system of theiPad also enters the criteria of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This is bad news for Apple, which will have to take measures similar to what was recently implemented on iOS.
The legislation, which aims to ensure a thriving competitive landscape within the European Union, regulates very large platforms, called gatekeepers. Certain services from Amazon, Meta, ByteDance, Microsoft, Google and Apple have this status. They must therefore comply with many additional rules relating to competition and competitiveness, in particular by opening their systems to their rivals.
On Apple’s side, only the App Store, iOS and Safari previously fell into this box. But the European Commission has just delivered its verdict following an investigation opened into iPadOS in September 2023. The answer is yes, the operating system meets enough criteria to obtain gatekeeper status.
Soon alternative app stores on iPad?
The European Commission points in particular to the closed ecosystem of the iPad, which “ discourages end users from switching to other tablet operating systems “.
“ Our market research showed that while it falls short of the thresholds, iPadOS is an important gateway that many businesses rely on to reach their customers. Today’s decision will ensure that fairness and contestability are preserved on this platform as well », Comments Margrethe Vestager, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of competition.
Under the law, the Cupertino company will no longer be able to grant its own services preferential treatment on the iPad compared to those offered by its competitors. It should also facilitate the “ sideloading “, that is, downloading applications outside the App Store, as well as installing third-party application stores. It is likely that the new pricing policy deployed on iOS will also be deployed on iPadOS. The European Commission has launched an investigation into it to determine whether it complies with the law.
Six months to comply
Companies that violate the Digital Markets Act face fines of up to 10% of their overall turnover. This amount can increase to 20% in the event of repeated violations.
This time, Apple played the complacency card. “ We will continue to work constructively with the European Commission to comply with the DMA, for all designated services. We will continue to focus on providing the best products and services to our European customers, while mitigating the new privacy and data security risks that DMA poses to our users. », Reacted the company.
She now has 6 months to bring iOS into compliance with European legislation.
999€
9
- Mini LED screen of exemplary quality
- The M2 processor is a model of performance
- iPadOS 16, increasingly flexible for productivity
The iPad Pro M2 brings almost nothing new compared to its predecessor, but nevertheless remains one of the best touchscreen tablets currently available on the market. The M2 processor keeps its promises, with a visible power gain in the most resource-intensive applications. We also appreciate the presence of a Wi-Fi 6E chip which provides the best possible wireless performance on compatible boxes and an impressive general technical sheet, which further blurs the boundaries between PC and tablet.
For the rest, it’s difficult to get more excited about a tablet where only the price has frankly changed, with an increase far too significant for the few improvements made. Only owners of old iPad Pros, or new entrants to this category of iPad will find what they are looking for.
We are now expecting a new generation with much more marked ruptures. For now, the iPad Pro M2 remains a slightly too subtle evolution of an already almost perfect product.
The iPad Pro M2 brings almost nothing new compared to its predecessor, but nevertheless remains one of the best touchscreen tablets currently available on the market. The M2 processor keeps its promises, with a visible power gain in the most resource-intensive applications. We also appreciate the presence of a Wi-Fi 6E chip which provides the best possible wireless performance on compatible boxes and an impressive general technical sheet, which further blurs the boundaries between PC and tablet.
For the rest, it’s difficult to get more excited about a tablet where only the price has frankly changed, with an increase far too significant for the few improvements made. Only owners of old iPad Pros, or new entrants to this category of iPad will find what they are looking for.
We are now expecting a new generation with much more marked ruptures. For now, the iPad Pro M2 remains a slightly too subtle evolution of an already almost perfect product.
Source : European Commission
After my journalism studies, I decided to focus on areas that fascinate me: new technologies, video games, or even astronomy. I love sharing around these subjects but my curiosity leads me to discuss many other subjects through my articles.
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