Facing Billions in DMA Fines, Apple Lets EU iPhone Users Install Apps Outside the App Store
In a scramble to sidestep penalties that could soar into the billions, and with Brussels regulators watching closely, Apple has agreed to let Europeans download iPhone apps from outside its own App Store.
With just hours left before an EU compliance deadline, the company said residents of the 27-nation bloc will soon be able to grab apps from rival marketplaces or straight off a developer's website. The change rolls out later this year with iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6, and also lets users set a different browser engine and choose a third-party wallet at checkout.
For everyday EU iPhone owners, that means the download button could pop up in more places than just Apple's storefront. After you select the new setting, iOS shows a one-time permission sheet confirming you're leaving Apple's marketplace. The app then passes a quick notarization scan meant to weed out malware. Apple notes that off-store downloads work only inside the EU, and disappear if you stay outside the bloc for more than 30 days.
Cost to developers
Developers do gain fresh distribution freedom, but there's a price tag. A new two-tier Store Services fee asks for 5% of outside sales in exchange for basic services like app reviews and support, in what's called Tier 1, or 13% for the full bundle of perks, including automatic updates and App Store promotions in Tier 2.
Apple will take a 5% "Core Technology Commission" on any purchase made outside its own payment system. That new cut will phase out the current €0.50-per-download fee and become the sole charge across the EU when a unified pricing model arrives on Jan. 1, 2026.
Apple insists "more than 99 percent" of devs will pay the same or less under the revamped math.
Why now?
In April, the European Commission fined Apple €500 million ($585 million) for blocking developers from steering users to cheaper payment options, and warned that daily penalties of up to 5% of global revenue could follow if it failed to comply.
Throughout the back-and-forth, Apple has accused the commission of "moving the goalposts" on what counts as compliance, with a spokesperson saying the company has invested "hundreds of thousands of hours" to meet the EU's evolving demands.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney blasted the 5% tier as a "malicious compliance scheme" that "makes a mockery of fair competition."
If regulators decide Apple still hasn't gone far enough, the iPhone maker could face steeper sanctions, or even be forced to separate its App Store business.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNET
20 minutes ago
- CNET
Apple's $96 Million Siri Settlement Closes In Days. Chances Are Good You Could Be Eligible
If you're eligible for a settlement payout from Apple, make sure you sign up by July 2. Viva Tung/CNET As useful as they -- sometimes -- can be, virtual assistants can often be just as annoying, especially if you've ever called one up by mistake. If you're an Apple user who's had that sort of issue with Siri in the last decade, I've got a settlement you should know about. Apple customers may be eligible for a payout from a $96 million class-action settlement if the Siri virtual assistant was accidentally activated during a private conversation. However, if you want your payout for this privacy invasion, you'll need to make sure you sign up soon. The deadline to file a claim now less than a week away, and after that you'll be out of luck. Apple agreed to the settlement after being sued for allegedly allowing Siri to listen in on private conversations without consent. Now, a claims website is live, and if you meet the criteria, you could get a piece of the payout. Whether you're a longtime iPhone user or just want to see if you're eligible, here's everything you need to know before the window closes. The settlement period covers a full decade and given the ubiquity of Apple products, there's a good chance you'll be eligible for a piece of the payout. If you meet the eligibility standards, you can claim a payment for up to five Siri-enabled devices, with a cap on how much you can receive per device. We'll get into the specific amount a little bit later. The impact of this settlement has the potential to be wide-ranging, given the reach of Apple's product ecosystem. According to a Business of Apps report from November, citing company and market research data, there were roughly 155 million active iPhones in the US as of 2024, a number that's been steadily increasing since the product's debut. Similarly, active Apple TV streaming boxes in the US have also been increasing year to year, with more than 32 million active in the US as of 2023. To find out if you're eligible for this settlement, read on. For more, find out what's up with the recent delay of T-Mobile data breach settlement checks. Who sued Apple and why? This class-action lawsuit, Lopez et al v. Apple Inc., was first brought against Apple in 2019, with plaintiffs alleging that they were routinely recorded by their Apple devices after unintentionally activating the Siri virtual assistant, violating their privacy in the process. They further alleged that these recordings were then sold to advertisers and used to target them with ads online. Specific incidents mentioned in the suit include plaintiffs seeing ads online for brands like Air Jordan and Olive Garden after Apple device users discussed them out loud. In some instances, plaintiffs claimed that their devices began listening to them without them having said anything at all. At least one plaintiff involved in the case was a minor when it was first filed. Though it agreed to the settlement, Apple hasn't admitted any wrongdoing. "Siri has been engineered to protect user privacy from the beginning," Apple said in a statement sent to CNET. "Siri data has never been used to build marketing profiles and it has never been sold to anyone for any purpose. Apple settled this case to avoid additional litigation so we can move forward from concerns about third-party grading that we already addressed in 2019. We use Siri data to improve Siri and we are constantly developing technologies to make Siri even more private." Who is eligible for this class-action settlement? The eligibility requirements for this settlement are fairly broad, as it's open to anyone who owned a Siri-enabled Apple device between Sept. 17, 2014, and Dec. 31, 2024. In order to opt in, you'll have to swear under oath that at some point during that period, you accidentally activated Siri on each device you want to get a payment for, and that these activations occurred during a conversation meant to be private. Siri-enabled devices include iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, MacBooks, iMacs, Apple TV streaming boxes, HomePod speakers and iPod Touches. How can I opt in to this Apple settlement? As of Thursday, May 8, a website has been launched where Apple customers can claim a portion of the settlement, if they believe they qualify. If you're looking to submit a claim, you have until July 2, 2025, to do so. It's not clear at this time when payments will be disbursed to approved claimants but it will surely be sometime after Aug. 1, 2025, when a final approval hearing is scheduled. How much can I get from the class-action settlement? Payments per device are to be capped at $20, although depending on how many people opt in to the settlement, claimants could receive less than that. Each individual can only claim payments for up to five devices, meaning the maximum possible payment you could receive from the settlement is $100. For more on Apple, see why a majority of users don't care for Apple Intelligence and find out which iOS setting can stop apps from tracking you.
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Provexis (LON:PXS) Is In A Strong Position To Grow Its Business
There's no doubt that money can be made by owning shares of unprofitable businesses. For example, biotech and mining exploration companies often lose money for years before finding success with a new treatment or mineral discovery. Having said that, unprofitable companies are risky because they could potentially burn through all their cash and become distressed. Given this risk, we thought we'd take a look at whether Provexis (LON:PXS) shareholders should be worried about its cash burn. For the purpose of this article, we'll define cash burn as the amount of cash the company is spending each year to fund its growth (also called its negative free cash flow). We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway. This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality. You can calculate a company's cash runway by dividing the amount of cash it has by the rate at which it is spending that cash. In September 2024, Provexis had UK£478k in cash, and was debt-free. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through UK£113k. So it had a cash runway of about 4.2 years from September 2024. A runway of this length affords the company the time and space it needs to develop the business. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years. See our latest analysis for Provexis Although Provexis had revenue of UK£1.2m in the last twelve months, its operating revenue was only UK£1.2m in that time period. We don't think that's enough operating revenue for us to understand too much from revenue growth rates, since the company is growing off a low base. So we'll focus on the cash burn, today. Notably, its cash burn was actually down by 74% in the last year, which is a real positive in terms of resilience, but uninspiring when it comes to investment for growth. Of course, we've only taken a quick look at the stock's growth metrics, here. This graph of historic revenue growth shows how Provexis is building its business over time. There's no doubt Provexis' rapidly reducing cash burn brings comfort, but even if it's only hypothetical, it's always worth asking how easily it could raise more money to fund further growth. Companies can raise capital through either debt or equity. Commonly, a business will sell new shares in itself to raise cash and drive growth. By comparing a company's annual cash burn to its total market capitalisation, we can estimate roughly how many shares it would have to issue in order to run the company for another year (at the same burn rate). Since it has a market capitalisation of UK£16m, Provexis' UK£113k in cash burn equates to about 0.7% of its market value. So it could almost certainly just borrow a little to fund another year's growth, or else easily raise the cash by issuing a few shares. As you can probably tell by now, we're not too worried about Provexis' cash burn. For example, we think its cash runway suggests that the company is on a good path. But it's fair to say that its cash burn reduction was also very reassuring. Looking at all the measures in this article, together, we're not worried about its rate of cash burn, which seems to be under control. Taking a deeper dive, we've spotted 4 warning signs for Provexis you should be aware of, and 1 of them is a bit concerning. If you would prefer to check out another company with better fundamentals, then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt or this list of stocks which are all forecast to grow. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
D-Wave's Advantage2 Gains Traction: More Upside Ahead for QBTS Stock?
D-Wave Quantum's QBTS standout growth catalyst this quarter is the successful launch and commercial deployment of its next-generation Advantage2 quantum annealer. In the last-reported quarter, the company posted 509% year-over-year growth in revenues, driven mainly by the first Advantage2 sale to the Julich Supercomputing Center. Now generally available via D-Wave Quantum's Leap cloud, it's gaining traction in real-world applications, from U.S. defense to AI-driven drug discovery. Shares of D-Wave Quantum have soared 67.4% over the past three months, largely outperforming the broader industry, sector and the benchmark. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Commercialization of the Advantage2 Quantum System A major driver of D-Wave Quantum's record first-quarter 2025 performance is the rapid commercialization of its next-gen Advantage2 quantum system. Featuring over 4,400 qubits, the platform delivers significant performance gains, 2x coherence time, 40% higher energy scale, and enhanced qubit connectivity, enabling more complex real-world optimization in AI, logistics, finance and materials science. The system's first commercial sale to Julich Supercomputing Center contributed heavily to the first quarter in revenues. A second deployment is underway at Davidson Technologies for U.S. defense applications, highlighting Advantage2's expanding relevance in government sectors. Following its general availability in May 2025 via the Leap cloud, D-Wave introduced new hybrid solvers for both continuous and integer variables, broadening the scope of use cases to include budgeting, scheduling and resource optimization. Beyond hardware, D-Wave also launched a quantum AI toolkit integrated with PyTorch, positioning Advantage2 as a platform for innovation in machine learning. IonQ IONQ: It is rapidly scaling up through major moves, including its $1.075 billion acquisition of Oxford Ionics to accelerate fault-tolerant quantum development. It also launched a quantum networking hub via a $22 million Forte Enterprise deal with EPB and acquired Lightsynq and Capella Space to support its quantum internet vision. On the application side, IonQ partnered with AstraZeneca, AWS and NVIDIA NVDA to achieve a 20× speedup in simulating a pharmaceutical reaction, showcasing growing real-world impact. Rigetti Computing RGTI: It has emphasized improvements in qubit fidelity and error mitigation, partnered with government entities for testing and calibration of its superconducting processors, and is reportedly advancing its roadmap toward hybrid quantum-classical cloud services. Although not yet celebrated through headline-making releases, Rigetti is positioning itself as a 'complete-stack' provider, integrating software infrastructure like its Quil programming framework and Forest SDK to support developer adoption alongside its next-gen hardware. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for QBTS' 2025 earnings implies a 72% improvement over 2024. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research D-Wave Quantum currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report IonQ, Inc. (IONQ) : Free Stock Analysis Report Rigetti Computing, Inc. (RGTI) : Free Stock Analysis Report D-Wave Quantum Inc. (QBTS) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
