Apple is going to allow iPhone users in Brazil to pay for apps and services outside of the App Store itself, all to settle an investigation into supposed anti-competitive practices in the country.

Due to regulatory action, Apple has agreed to allow alternative app stores, third-party payment systems for in-app purchases, and in-app links to external offers on iOS in Brazil, according to legal news website MLex and Brazilian blog Tecnoblog.

Apple is preparing to show more paid placements inside App Store search results, promising that the extra inventory will still feel “relevant” to what people are trying to find. The expansion raises the stakes for developers who rely on organic discovery,

Apple has been granted a temporary reprieve from needing to adhere to a Texas law forcing it to verify the ages of App Store users in the state.

Starting next year, Apple will allow app sideloading and external payment links for users in Brazil, following a local antitrust settlement.

In a post on X, he wrote, “Apple was required to open up iOS to competing stores today, and instead of doing so honestly, they have launched another travesty of obstruction and lawbreaking in gross disrespect to the government and people of Japan. Apple chose poorly. Again.”

Apple will next year introduce more ads in the App Store "to increase opportunity" in search results, the company has announced. According to an update to Apple's Ads website, additional ads will appear across search queries,

Apple tax has been disputable. Developers complained, regulators grumbled. That era is now ending. On 18 Dec, Japan became the latest market to decrease Apple Tax.