This is the best summary I could come up with:

Starting back in March with the release of iOS 17.4, iPhones in the European Union have been subject to the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), a batch of regulations that (among other things) forced Apple support alternate app stores, app sideloading, and third-party browser engines in iOS for the first time.

"Apple now has six months to ensure full compliance of iPadOS with the DMA obligations," reads the EU's blog post about the change.

But the ability to use alternate app stores and browser engines on the iPad's large screen (and the desktop-class M-series chips) could make the tablets better laptop replacements by allowing them to do more of the things that Mac users can do on their systems.

Depending on the results of that investigation, the EU may require Apple to make more changes to the way it allows third-party apps to be installed in iOS and to the way that third-party developers are allowed to advertise non-Apple app store and payment options.

Any changes that Apple makes to iOS to comply with the investigation's findings will presumably trickle down to the iPad as well.

That said, we have seen some recent App Store rule changes that have arguably trickled down from Apple's attempts to comply with the DMA, most notably policy changes that have allowed (some, not all) retro game console emulators into the App Store for the first time.

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