Apple will allow alternative app marketplaces and third-party payment processing in Brazil starting with iOS 26.5, following a December 2025 antitrust settlement with Brazil's competition regulator CADE. Brazilian developers can distribute apps through authorized third-party stores and bypass Apple's In-App Purchase system, though direct web sideloading remains prohibited. Apple's new fee structure sets App Store commission at 25% (or 10% for qualifying programs), with an additional 5% for using Apple's payment system. Brazil joins the EU, Japan, and South Korea in compelling Apple to open iOS to third-party distribution. The changes mirror Apple's EU Digital Markets Act concessions, and questions remain about whether Brazil's enforcement will be more effective than the EU's, given ongoing violations there and Apple's tendency to make alternatives commercially unattractive.
