On Monday, industry website MacRumors reported that Bloomberg chief correspondent Mark Gurman says US tech titan Apple will allow EU users of the iPhone to download and install applications which are hosted outside the firm’s App Store, in order to comply with EU regulations.

The report stated that Apple will offer a “highly controlled system” which will allow users to “sideload” apps, a process whereby apps are installed without needing to use the App Store.

MacRumors wrote that according to the latest subscriber edition of Gurman’s Power On newsletter, the new system will be made available “sometime in the first half of 2024.”

The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) requires that app stores, and other so-called gatekeepers, ie large digital platforms which offer core computer services to users such as online search engines, must not take actions or design their services such that other companies and developers are unable to compete with them.

In September, the European Commission designated  Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft as gatekeepers.

If they fail to comply, the European Commission may levy fines of up to 10% of the gatekeeper’s total worldwide annual turnover, or as much as 20% if the gatekeeper engages in repeated infringements.

Apple had claimed that it could not allow sideloading, because it would “cripple” the privacy and security protections of the iPhone, and expose users to such risks as malware, scams, and data tracking.

However the company forces some app makers to pay commissions of as much as 30% of their revenues in return for being allowed to utilize its in-app payment system. The fees have been criticized as exorbitant by developers, and antitrust regulators in several countries have sought to target the iPhone maker over them.