These are Apple notarized apps. As with macOS, they still have to both be signed and go through some verification , but they don’t apply any of the other App Store rules to it.
There’s App Store rules and then there’s system rules (security, multitasking etc).
The DMA only side steps the former not the latter. The issue in the article is the latter.
Yep. "Some" verification. Random and arbitrary as Apple's verification is known to be.
How many times have you read about a dev who had an app rejected, resubmitted it with no changes and had it approved?
How many times have you read about rejections without a clear motive and any further explanation?
It’s been a thing for years now on Mac with many, many notarized apps.
iOS restricts what apps can run in the background based on their capabilities.
1. App Store rules
2. Notarization of apps outside the App Store
3. System rules like security and task scheduling
They are independent concerns. You’re conflating the limitations of the third point and blaming it on the first two.