India, Dec. 24 -- For years, Apple iOS has followed a single rulebook: one App Store, one payment system, one gatekeeper.In Brazil, that rulebook is about to change.

After a three-year antitrust probe, Apple has agreed to allow third-party app stores and external payment systems on iOS devices in Brazil. The decision comes as part of a settlement with CADE, Brazil's competition regulator, and marks one of the most direct rollbacks of Apple's long-standing App Store controls.

This is not a product update. It is a regulatory reset.

The case began in 2022 when MercadoLibre, a Uruguay-based e-commerce platform operating across Latin America, filed a complaint against Apple. The allegation was straightforward: Apple restricted how digital g...