Overview
- This week Samsung took legal action against the City of Datteln, arguing the municipality’s planned tender for more Apple iPads unlawfully favors a single manufacturer and breaches German and EU procurement rules.
- A regional procurement body initially sided with Datteln but Samsung appealed, so the case is now before the Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf with a judgment expected on 2 September 2026.
- Datteln says the purchase is justified by its existing Apple system architecture, citing Mobile Device Management with Automated Device Enrollment, centralized volume app licensing, a shared‑device mode and a teacher console that would make switching to Android highly disruptive.
- The city has paused all new tablet purchases while the dispute proceeds, leaving roughly 2,700 iPads already in use and more than 600 students waiting for replacements or new devices.
- If the OLG rules against Datteln or refers the question to the European Court of Justice, many other German municipalities with large iPad fleets could be forced to reopen tenders, revise contracts or pay for costly migrations.