The UK Competitors and Markets Authority (CMA) is searching for views on commitments from Apple and Google meant to ship improved “certainty, transparency and equity for hundreds of UK companies depending on app shops to serve their prospects”.
The proposals are the primary adjustments secured by the CMA following the designation of Apple and Google’s cell platforms as having strategic market standing (SMS) below the digital markets competitors regime in October 2025.
This standing signifies that an organization has entrenched and substantial energy in a market, and that it’s consequently topic to pro-competition guidelines to curb its energy and affect below the phrases of the UK’s Digital Markets, Competitors and Customers Act.
In October 2025, the CMA discovered Apple and Google’s cell platforms held an efficient duopoly, with 90% to 100% of UK cell gadgets working on Apple or Google’s cell platform.
Sarah Cardell, chief government of the CMA, mentioned: “Following designation of Apple and Google’s cell platforms in October final yr, the CMA has moved swiftly to safe a package deal of commitments from Apple and Google that may increase the UK’s app economic system, giving builders the chance and confidence they should make investments and innovate.
The CMA has moved swiftly to safe a package deal of commitments from Apple and Google that may increase the UK’s app economic system, giving builders the chance and confidence they should make investments and innovate Sarah Cardell, CMA
“The flexibility to safe fast commitments from Apple and Google displays the distinctive flexibility of the UK digital markets competitors regime and affords a sensible path to swiftly handle the considerations we’ve recognized.
“These are necessary first steps whereas we proceed to work on a broad vary of extra measures to enhance Apple and Google’s app retailer providers within the UK. For instance, by enabling extra selection and innovation in digital wallets, boosting the UK’s fintech sector and probably supporting the roll-out of digital IDs.”
The CMA mentioned its intent is to spice up the UK’s app economic system and supply builders with confidence that they are going to be handled pretty by Apple and Google. The UK has a vibrant app developer neighborhood, it mentioned, representing Europe’s largest app economic system by income and app developer depend. In whole, the UK app economic system generates an estimated 1.5% of the UK’s GDP and helps round 400,000 jobs, in accordance with the CMA, with specific strengths in gaming and monetary providers.
The CMA mentioned Apple has signed as much as further commitments that may allow builders to request extra interoperable entry to the iOS and iPadOS cell working methods. The proposals are a part of an ongoing programme of labor and updates that embrace guaranteeing companies can get fairer phrases for distributing their apps to prospects, and ensuring companies like fintechs can entry the instruments they should compete pretty with Apple’s digital pockets.
If Apple and Google fail to implement their commitments successfully, the CMA would count on to maneuver swiftly to impose formal “conduct necessities”.
The particular commitments embrace:
App assessment: Ensuring Apple and Google “assessment” apps to be distributed on their app shops in a good, goal and clear method, and don’t discriminate in opposition to apps that compete with their very own, or give preferential therapy to their very own apps.
App rating: Ensuring Apple and Google “rank” apps of their app shops in a good, goal and clear method, and don’t discriminate in opposition to apps that compete with their very own, or give preferential therapy to their very own apps.
Information assortment: Ensuring Apple and Google safeguard the app knowledge they collect from builders in the midst of app assessment and don’t use this knowledge unfairly.
Interoperability: Enabling builders to extra simply request interoperable entry to options and performance inside Apple’s cell working methods, giving companies extra certainty over how they’ll ship modern services and products to UK customers. Apple has dedicated to contemplating requests pretty and objectively.
In a weblog submit, Will Hayter, government director for digital markets on the CMA, wrote: “To achieve customers with Apple cell gadgets, app builders haven’t any selection however to distribute on Apple’s App Retailer. Whereas different choices can be found, Google’s Play Retailer is by far the principle distribution channel for app builders searching for to succeed in Android customers.
“These app shops are subsequently important for app builders, and it’s important they’re handled pretty and believe and certainty they’ll have the ability to serve their prospects and produce new improvements ahead. That is particularly necessary for key providers like banking and fee apps, and ensures UK customers have entry to a variety of services and products on their cell gadgets.”
The CMA has said that Apple and Google having the SMS designation doesn’t indicate that they’ve acted anti-competitively. The authority is searching for views on the proposed commitments by 3 March 2026. Topic to views, the commitments will take impact from 1 April 2026.
