Apple has agreed to change how it treats third-party developers on the iPhone in the UK. The move follows long-running complaints that the company favors its own apps and services inside the App Store. Regulators now want to see whether these promises lead to real change for developers and better competition for users.
For years, competition authorities argued that Apple controls the iPhone app market too tightly. Developers must distribute paid apps through Apple’s App Store, and critics say Apple also gives its own apps better visibility and access than rivals. In response, Apple and Google have now offered a set of formal commitments focused on fairness, transparency, and access.
In a statement given to Bloomberg, Apple said:
“The commitments announced today allow Apple to continue advancing important privacy and security innovations for users and great opportunities for developers.”
The changes form part of a wider action led by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, which last year designated Apple and Google as having strategic market status in mobile platforms. This label does not accuse either company of wrongdoing, but it gives regulators stronger powers to demand changes that support competition.
Apple’s promise
Apple’s commitments focus on four main areas. First, app review decisions must follow clear, objective rules, without discrimination against apps that compete with Apple’s own services. Second, app rankings must also follow fair and transparent criteria, so Apple apps do not receive automatic preference.
Third, Apple must protect developer data collected during the app review process and avoid using that information unfairly. Finally, the company must improve interoperability. This means developers can more easily request access to iOS features and system functions, which could help rival apps compete on more equal terms.
The CMA has opened a public consultation that runs until March 3. Apple must implement the new measures by April 1. The regulator says it will closely track results, including how many interoperability requests Apple receives and how it handles them. If progress falls short, the CMA has warned it will impose formal requirements. More action may follow, including possible changes to how Apple’s Wallet app operates in the UK.
