Apple appears to be laying the groundwork for a major policy shift in Brazil. According to reports tied to the iOS 26.5 release candidate, Brazilian iPhone users may soon be able to choose third-party app stores as their default software marketplace instead of relying exclusively on the App Store.
The reported change centers on a new “App Installation” setting inside iOS 26.5. It reportedly sits under Settings > Apps and is designed to manage software distribution channels beyond Apple’s own storefront. Right now, the visible option still points only to the App Store, but the wording in the interface suggests Apple is preparing for support beyond a single official marketplace.
If that rollout happens, it would give Brazil iPhone users more control over where recommended apps come from across system surfaces like Spotlight, Siri, and Safari. The source report also says users with multiple marketplaces installed would be able to switch which one acts as the system default.
This is not happening in a vacuum. The move is widely seen as part of Apple’s settlement with Brazil’s antitrust authority CADE, which ended a multiyear investigation that had been running since 2022. Under that agreement, third-party stores would be allowed to operate legally on iOS in Brazil, and developers there could also use outside payment methods inside their apps.
For Apple, the Brazil-specific adjustments in iOS 26.5 could become an important test case for how the company handles platform openness under regional regulation. For users, it signals that app distribution on the iPhone may soon look a lot less locked down than it used to.
