Apple Working to Add Support for Sideloading and Alternate App Stores in Europe

[eyoungren]

It's interesting…the more Apple moves towards jailbreaking features that have been available for years, the more people shy away from it.

Cydia has been a third party app store for years, with a payment system and vetted repos (repositories). There are now other third party app stores for jailbreaking that do the same thing and have been around for a while as well.

Apple's been robbing jailbreak developers blind for years, taking their ideas, hiring them away and putting out stuff that's weak tea compared to the JB tweak or app. I have no doubt they'll find a way to monetize this as well.

 

[Realityck]

Apple is planning to allow for alternate app stores on iPhones and iPads ahead of European legislation that will require the company to support sideloading, reports Bloomberg.

I'd like to see this happen while keeping security/privacy well supported. There’s got to be a happy medium for it to all work well when iOS 17 is released.

 

[PauloSera]

The change would allow customers to download apps without needing to use the App Store, which would mean developers would not need to pay Apple's 15 to 30 percent fees

Can we also talk about how this will enable FREE apps to simply distribute in the way that makes the most sense for the company/app without having to go through Apple's overbearing process.

It's not only about saving a couple points on each sale. There are numerous free apps that I would have done over the years for certain entities that would have worked if they could have distributed them on a website or specific customers, and not have everything go through the App Store. The developer account/app store itself is enough of a nightmare as far as "entity" is concern to discourage lots of types of development.

 

[jimZon]

All you that complain - how do you do for your apps for macOS? Do you only download them from Apple's "App Store" as well?

 

[ejbrennan]

No we haven’t. We have had terrible viruses, compromised systems, locked down and hacked hospitals and colleges, and ransomware. What planet have you been on? There have never been safe desktop computers and we have been fighting this cat and mouse game more and more each year.

Maybe you haven't, but I have managed to do just fine - and I assume I will do just fine choosing what apps I want to install on my iPhone - sounds like you should stick to the app store.

 

[mrat93]

I just want to say: If Apple allowed emulators and other “banned” categories in the App Store in a safe way, there likely wouldn’t have been enough push from average users and well as legislative bodies for this to actually happen in the EU.

Instead, they’ve lied their asses off for years, and now they’re finally getting bitten in the ass for it.

 

[PauloSera]

I think I’ll just stick to the App Store thanks.

Lmao not when an App you want isn't there.

 

[PauloSera]

You think the EU is going to allow Apple to keep charging 15% and 30% by just calling it a verification fee?

You think the EU is going to tell Apple they aren't allowed to charge for their services?

 

[Analog Kid]

For those who are fearful of bad things happening, don't worry

Thank you, I feel better now...

But as with any new feature that is added, there will be those who don't want anyone else to have that feature if they themselves won't be using it.

Yeah, like those people who don't want the air conditioning in the room turned on if they're not cold. Or don't want their condo building to provide unlocked doors on the back of the building and should be happy there's a lock on the street door they usually use.

If you can guarantee I won't need to use one of these alternate stores or sideload to keep using my products as I am, and won't need to put any additional effort in to security or maintenance of my own systems, I might start to come around, but I'm as certain as I can be that I'll need to use one for something or will have to take some step to lock them out.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

US next, for better or for worse.

Good. There's been so many apps I wanted on my iPhone and iPad but never could get because Apple doesn't allow them on the App Store, or their rules turned those developers away. Now I can get retro game emulators on my phone, and FireFox on iOS can use Quantum instead of Webkit, Steam can start distributing mobile games, and we can start getting some of the cool stuff Android users have had for years.

 

[cateye]

We need safety rails by default and a lot of people suffer heavily from the Dunning-Kruger effect, vastly overestimating their ability to make a decision that isn't going to hurt themselves.

This is another footgun for 90% of users. Another damn downward spiral.

Totally agree with you, actually, and I've also seen people do the most bogglingly self-destructive things with computers. If I had to guess why, it's probably a lack of understanding, a lack of technical aptitude, and most of all, a lack of desire to learn. This may sound like victim-blaming, but it's not. It's an acknowledgement that there's an element of personal responsibility involved, of knowing your limits, accepting them, and seeking the help you need to be safely productive with any tool.

I reject, completely, the assertion that therefore everyone needs to be protected from themselves, and therefore we can only accept fully-locked-down computing platforms. It's all a red herring anyway—Apple will fight tooth and nail to protect the App Store as a revenue source. If they cared that much about individual security, we would've never moved beyond web apps like Jobs initially envisioned.

 

[Athonline]

That’s a best case scenario.

Now think of a country like Russia. It says ‘**** your security requirements Apple. We want complete sideload and we want our government apps on every citizen’s phone’

Then another country copies the Russian example, and another, and another. Then we end up with half the world’s iPhones under surveillance.

So your hopium about secure freedom of sideloading fails. An autocrat regime will simply take all phone data and organised crime will feed on it too.

To be fair, this has been the case already: https://9to5mac.com/2021/04/01/iphone-russian-app-list-device-setup/

 

[Analog Kid]

You’ll still have that option.

Can you guarantee that? I haven't seen the draft legislation, but if it doesn't say app vendors must sell the same app through the native App Store that they sell through alternate stores, I'm pretty sure you can't.

You don't think there will be a Microsoft store? An Adobe store?

 

[Benjamin Nabulsi]

This is sad, but Apple should charge these sideloaded apps or stores the legacy 60% cut.

 

[Danfango]

When did Apple threaten to ban Twitter?

They didn't. People listen to what people said happened, not what actually happened.

 

[PauloSera]

I just want to say: If Apple allowed emulators and other “banned” categories in the App Store in a safe way, there likely wouldn’t have been enough push from average users and well as legislative bodies for this to actually happen in the EU.

Instead, they’ve lied their asses off for years, and now they’re finally getting bitten in the ass for it.

Lmao. That's the first time I've heard it suggested that "emulators" is in some way a motivating factor. That's a good one.

However you are right about one thing: Apple could have easily prevented all of this by being more reasonable than they have been.

 

[Armada2]

Good luck to anyone who downloads a trojan. You’re on your own from there, well no you’re not because all your contacts and emails will belong to the attacker and they’ll get it too. Dictators, mafias and cyber criminals love phone data.

Then blame it on Apple at the Apple Store demanding they have a refund etc

 

[PauloSera]

If you can guarantee I won't need to use one of these alternate stores or sideload to keep using my products as I am, and won't need to put any additional effort in to security or maintenance of my own systems, I might start to come around, but I'm as certain as I can be that I'll need to use one for something or will have to take some step to lock them out.

I'm not sure if you realize it, but this does NOT read as compelling argument for why other people shouldn't be free to sideload Apps.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Your reasoning is ‘Airport security accidentally allowed a terrorist into the country, therefore screw airport security. They failed a few times, so let’s just have no more airport security.’

I don’t think that analogy is close enough even to correct.

It’s more like customs doesn’t allow imports of DVDs except from a couple big companies they have a deal with.

I don’t even have an analogy for their decision to just not allow LAN scanning apps access to see MAC addresses, even when explicitly granted permission.

It’s nothing as severe as terrorists and airports, it’s just about making unnecessary restrictions while at the same time restricting any other options.

Edit: to use your analogy, it’s more like Apple saying top tier security can only be provided at our airport, therefore private planes and airports are illegal. Only we can be trusted to fly planes.

 

[PauloSera]

Good luck to anyone who downloads a trojan. You’re on your own from there, well no you’re not because all your contacts and emails will belong to the attacker and they’ll get it too. Dictators, mafias and cyber criminals love phone data.

Almost as if people haven't used Macs and PCs for the last 40 years...

 

[timber]

I guess a lot of people are just scared to use a Mac or a Windows PC.

 

[seek3r]

Good luck to anyone who downloads a trojan. You’re on your own from there, well no you’re not because all your contacts and emails will belong to the attacker and they’ll get it too. Dictators, mafias and cyber criminals love phone data.

You know a Mac is more open than even allowing side-loading on iOS will be, right? Do you panic every time you use a Mac?

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Awesome!

I’m looking forward to guides for how to set up my iPhone (in the US) to behave like a European one and permit sideloading.

Kind of obnoxious that Apple wants to force us to jump through a hoop like that, but I presume it’ll be easier/less risky than jailbreaking.

I wonder whether it’ll work with all iPhones that support iOS 17 or if they’ll require me to buy a newer iPhone (than my 8+.)

 

[Analog Kid]

I'm not sure if you realize it, but this does NOT read as compelling argument for why other people shouldn't be free to sideload Apps.

Sorry, maybe you hadn't looked outside the iOS ecosystem before:

Android – Certified - Partners

Many manufacturers test Android devices for security and performance and preload them with Google apps. See manufacturers of certified devices.

www.android.com

Tell me, where can I find the solution I currently have after governments for Apple to fundamentally change its nature?

 

[Paddle1]

Do the people who are against installing apps also only download apps from the Windows Store or Mac App Store? If you can do it on a computer then you shouldn't run into any issues on iOS which is more locked down.

May as well be prepared, because if we're being honest if this happens some developers will only release their apps outside of the store.