Apple and Google agree app store changes to appease UK regulator

Apple and Google have agreed to make ‍their mobile app stores fairer and more transparent for thousands ⁠of developers, Britain’s antitrust regulator said on Tuesday, hailing it as important first steps in its tougher regime.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ‌designated the ‌two tech giants as having “strategic market status” in smartphones in October, ‌giving it the power to demand specific changes to boost competition.

Nearly all smartphones in Britain run either Apple iOS or Google’s Android operating systems, and their app stores and ​browsers have exclusive or dominant positions ​on their platforms.