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EU antitrust officials on Monday identified iPadOS, Apple's operating system for iPads, as a significant digital gatekeeper under the EU's new tech regulations, which carry strict requirements that aim to promote fair competition and expand options for consumers. Last September, the Commission designated Apple as a gatekeeper for its iOS iPhone operating system, its web browser Safari, and its App Store. On the same day, the Commission opened a market investigation to assess whether iPadOS constitutes an important gateway for business users to reach end users in order to assess whether should be designated as a gatekeeper. That investigation has now ended. According to an EC press release shared on Monday, the Commission's investigation found that Apple "presents the features of a gatekeeper in relation to iPadOS," for the following reasons: Apple's business user numbers exceeded the quantitative threshold elevenfold, while its end user numbers were close to the threshold and are predicted to rise in the near future. End users are locked-in to iPadOS. Apple leverages its large ecosystem to disincentivise end users from switching to other operating systems for tablets. Business users are locked-in to iPadOS because of its large and commercially attractive user base, and its importance for certain use cases, such as gaming apps.The Commission has now given Apple a six-month deadline to fully comply with the obligations set by the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which means we should expect enforced changes in iOS like alternative app marketplaces, web distribution, and alternative browsers to come to iPadOS as well in a forthcoming update. "The Digital Markets Act is a dynamic tool which allows us to tackle the realities of digital markets," said Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy. "Today, we have brought Apple's iPadOS within the scope of the DMA obligations. Our market investigation showed that despite not meeting the thresholds, iPadOS constitutes an important gateway on which many companies rely to reach their customers. Today's decision will ensure that fairness and contestability are preserved also on this platform, in addition to the 22 other services we designated last September. Apple has six months to make iPadOS compliant with the DMA."To be classified as a "gatekeeper" under the DMA, a company must fulfill certain criteria, including having sales across the EU of at least €7.5 billion, or a market capitalization of €75 billion or above. The designation also requires platforms or services to have more than 45 million monthly active users and over 10,000 active business users annually within the EU. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft were all designated gatekeepers by the Commission, and had to fully comply with all DMA obligations by March 7. Companies that do not adhere to the new regulations risk facing EU investigations, substantial fines, and the imposition of "behavioral or structural remedies." The fines can amount to 10 percent of a company's global revenue, with a 20 percent penalty for repeat violations.Tags: European Union, European Commission This article, "iPadOS Identified as Digital 'Gatekeeper' Under New EU Tech Rules" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple today seeded the third betas of upcoming iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released the second betas. Registered developers are able to opt into the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to the Software Update section, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option, and toggling on the iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 Developer Beta. An Apple ID associated with a developer account is required to download and install the beta. Most of the features that Apple promised would be coming in ‌iOS 17‌ have now been released, but iOS 17.5 adds additional app ecosystem changes in the European Union. App developers can offer apps for download on the iPhone directly from their websites, in addition to through app marketplaces. There are also code changes that hint at new Apple Pencils and a Battery Health feature for the iPad, with more information on what's new available in our iOS 17.5 beta features post.Related Roundups: iOS 17, iPadOS 17Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17 This article, "Apple Seeds Third Betas of iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 to Developers" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming two weeks after Apple released the first betas. Registered developers are able to opt into the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to the Software Update section, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option, and toggling on the iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 Developer Beta. An Apple ID associated with a developer account is required to download and install the beta. Most of the features that Apple promised would be coming in ‌iOS 17‌ have now been released, but iOS 17.5 adds additional app ecosystem changes in the European Union. App developers can offer apps for download on the iPhone directly from their websites, in addition to through app marketplaces. There are also code changes that hint at new Apple Pencils and a Battery Health feature for the iPad, with more information on what's new available in our iOS 17.5 beta features post.Related Roundups: iOS 17, iPadOS 17Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17 This article, "Apple Seeds Second Betas of iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 to Developers" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple may be planning to expand the iPhone's Battery Health menu to upcoming iPad models, based on evidence uncovered in the iPadOS 17.5 beta. As discovered by MacRumors contributors Steve Moser and Aaron Perris, there are several new references to a Battery Health menu on the iPad within the code for the first iPadOS 17.5 beta, which was released to developers earlier this week. The menu is expected to show an iPad battery's maximum remaining capacity and cycle count. A sample of the code strings added in the iPadOS 17.5 beta: "iPad must be regularly used while not connected to power to show maximum capacity." "This is the number of times iPad has used your battery's capacity." "The iPad battery is performing as expected." "iPad batteries, like all rechargeable batteries, have a limited lifespan and may eventually need to be serviced or replaced." "The original battery was designed to retain X capacity at X cycles under ideal conditions. Actual battery performance depends on a number of variables, including how iPad is used and charged regularly. The one-year warranty includes service for defective batteries in addition to rights provided under local consumer laws." There is no visible Battery Health menu on any existing iPad models on the first iPadOS 17.5 beta, leading us to believe that the menu may be limited to the new iPad Pro and iPad Air models that are rumored to launch in May, and likely other new iPads released in the future. Apple has shown battery capacity information on iPhones for many years, but cycle count information is currently limited to the latest iPhone 15 series. Apple will likely release iPadOS 17.5 to the public in May. Given this is a code finding in a beta, we cannot guarantee that a Battery Health menu will be added to the iPad, but it is certainly something that Apple has been working on.Related Roundups: iPad Air , iPad ProBuyer's Guide: iPad Air (Don't Buy), 11" iPad Pro (Don't Buy), 12.9" iPad Pro (Don't Buy)Related Forum: iPad This article, "iPadOS 17.5 Beta Hints at Battery Capacity and Cycle Count Menu on Upcoming iPads" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming two weeks after Apple released iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4. Registered developers are able to opt into the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to the Software Update section, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option, and toggling on the iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 Developer Beta. An Apple ID associated with a developer account is required to download and install the beta. Most of the features that Apple promised would be coming in ‌iOS 17‌ have now been released, but iOS 17.5 is expected to introduce additional app ecosystem changes in the European Union. App developers will be able to offer apps for download on the iPhone directly from their websites, in addition to through app marketplaces. Related Roundups: iOS 17, iPadOS 17Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17 This article, "Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 to Developers" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple today released iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1, minor updates to the iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 operating systems. The new software comes a couple of weeks after Apple released iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4 with app changes in the European Union, new emoji, and more. iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. For customers who are still on iOS 16, Apple has also released an iOS 16.7.7 security update. According to Apple's release notes, the iOS 17.4.1 update includes important security updates and bug fixes. Apple will likely begin testing iOS 17.5 in the near future, with betas expected to come out in the next two weeks.Related Roundups: iOS 17, iPadOS 17Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17 This article, "Apple Releases iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Bug Fixes and Security Improvements" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article