Apple announced iPadOS 18 during the opening of WWDC week on June 10 and immediately made the first beta available for developers to download. Now, the second beta is also available for download and it improves a big change to how iPad owners download apps.
Much like is already the case on the iPhone, Apple's iPadOS 18 beta 2 release adds support for third-party app stores and more for the first time. The move comes as Apple seeks to comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act and while the iPad was previously exempt, that is no longer the case.
As a result, Apple has rolled out changes that will allow iPad owners in 27 EU member countries to install third-party app stores when the software is made available publicly later this year.
Beta changes
Apple confirmed the news in a post on the company's developer website, saying that "The changes for apps in the European Union (EU), currently available to iOS users in the 27 EU member countries, can now be tested in iPadOS 18 beta 2 with Xcode 16 beta 2."
Apple also noted that support for third-party web browser engines will also be offered via iPadOS 18, removing the need for apps to use Apple's own WebKit.
The iPadOS 18 beta is currently only available to developers while a public beta is expected to kick off starting in July. The final release is then likely to be made available globally in September, but these changes will only apply to people in one of the 27 EU countries.
