EU Drops Apple iOS Developer Antitrust Investigation

The European Union’s European Commission is dropping an investigation into Apple’s App Store policies now that the company is allowing developers to use a wider range of tools when coding apps for iOS devices. The Cupertino-based company had been under investigation for a policy change that limited developers to coding with native iOS tools.

Joaquín Almunia, the Commission’s Vice President in charge of Competition Policy, stated “Apple’s response to our preliminary investigations shows that the Commission can use the competition rules to achieve swift results on the market with clear benefits for consumers, without the need to open formal proceedings.”

Apple’s new SDK rules are OK with the EU

The European Commission launched an investigation into Apple’s App Store policies after the company banned cross compiler tools that let developers create a single codebase that could be recompiled to run on several different devices. Adobe’s Flash CS5 iPhone app compiler landed in the spotlight as an example of companies getting locked out of iOS app development after Apple’s policy change.

Apple’s recent reversal allowed developers to use Flash CS5, as well as many other coding environments, to write products that could be accepted in the iTunes-based App Store.

The agency also dropped an investigation into Apple’s repair policies since the company changed its stance on limiting iPhone warranty repairs to the country where the device was purchased.