Apple yesterday detailed how it plans to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) by formally allowing alternative app marketplaces other than the App Store and more with iOS 17.4 once it launches in March.
Most of the changes the company announced yesterday will only apply to the 27 member states of the EU. Below, we outline the full list of countries to receive external app marketplaces, reduced app download commissions through the App Store and elsewhere, and default third-party web browsers.
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
Apple also announced that it will allow banks and other financial institutions in Europe to access the iPhone’s NFC chip, allowing them to develop Apple Pay rivals. These changes not only apply to the EU but also to the EEA. The European Economic Area includes the 27 member states of the Union but also adds three countries namely Norway, Iceland, and Lichtenstein. Banks in those three countries will be able to access the iPhone’s NFC chip, but other App Store changes are exclusive to EU nations.
None of the changes will apply to the United Kingdom, which officially left the EU and the EEA in January 2020. Switzerland will also not be subjected to any of Apple’s policy updates since the country is not part of the EU or the EEA but is only part of Europe’s single market.
However, those two countries will be able to make use of Apple’s decision to allow game streaming apps on the App Store, with that change effective worldwide.
