iOS 17.5 Lets EU iPhone Users Download Apps From Websites

[Abazigal]

I hope that Apple would eventually be brought to their senses and abandon the CTF altogether. Either this or risking another hefty EU fine.

Right now, we haven't heard the EU comment on the CTF, so it's still anyone's guess whether the authorities think this is an issue or not. Though seeing my track record with the DMA so far, I may have just jinxed it and the EU issues a statement tomorrow condemning it. 😛

 

[GrayFlannel]

I´m tired of the paternalism of the European Union, as if the user is stupid.

Signed: Citizen of the European Union

Here’s an example of Apple’s benevolence.

Late-night host Jon Stewart said Apple asked him not to interview Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan when he was hosting a show and podcast on Apple TV+.

Stewart made the comments about the tech company during Monday night’s episode of “The Daily Show” in an interview with Khan.

“I’ve got to tell you, I wanted to have you on a podcast, and Apple asked us not to do it, to have you,” Stewart said. “They literally said, ‘Please don’t talk to her.’ ”

—Wall Street Journal

https://www.wsj.com/tech/jon-stewart-says-apple-urged-him-not-to-interview-lina-khan-271ddeb0?mod=hp_listb_pos2

 

[one more]

Right now, we haven't heard the EU comment on the CTF, so it's still anyone's guess whether the authorities think this is an issue or not. Though seeing my track record with the DMA so far, I may have just jinxed it and the EU issues a statement tomorrow condemning it. 😛

The EC are looking into this right now, apparently:

Commission opens non-compliance investigations against Alphabet, Apple and Meta under the Digital Markets Act

The Commission has opened non-compliance investigations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) into Alphabet's rules on steering in Google Play and self-preferencing on Google Search, Apple's rules on steering in the App Store and the choice screen for Safari and Meta's “pay or consent model”.

digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu

EU Opens Non-Compliance Investigations into Apple, Meta, and Google

Apple's compliance with new EU laws designed to rein in the market power of big tech companies is set to be investigated by regulators, the European Commission has announced. The Commission said on Monday that non-compliance investigations have been opened against Apple, Google, and Meta, under...

www.macrumors.com

 

[VulchR]

Well Apple let Facebook place an app masquerading as a VPN that spied on other apps.

That's where the EU should have acted - if Apple is charging a fee for downloads from its app store, which are no doubt passed on to consumers, then the consumers should benefit from that fee. The EU should have required Apple to warranty the quality and security of apps in its app store, and provided an easy mechanism whereby iOS users could claim compensation if an app's quality is low (here's looking at you, Scopely) or privacy/security is not as advertised. Instead they chose to change Apple's very successful business model after lobbying by less successful and less competitive European companies. As if these companies weren't transferring the Apple charges directly to consumers, and as if now they'll reduce their app fees rather than, say, just keeping their prices the same and adding to their profits.... 🙄

Mark my words: None of this will help consumers in the long run.

 

[Manzanito]

apple collects fees to provide free services to developers that normally they would have to pay for.



who said 0.50 euro per user equates to a profit? a user can easily use substantially more than 0.50 euros of Apple services that Apple provides to these developers for free in a single year.

The answer to that would be in the part of my post you didn’t feel like quoting.

 

[Manzanito]

I’m tired of the paternalism of Apple, as if the user is stupid.

It’s Apple that wants to restrict what the user can do with his device, not the EU

Didn’t you get the memo? If it’s apple telling you what to do, it’s not paternalism, it’s apple making sure you get the best posible user experience.

 

[truthsteve]

Terrible take. What if I don’t want to use any of those tools and services?

then don't develop for iOS. make a web app or go android dev. simple.

 

[jjwwqq]

Apple’s arguments in defense of their App Store would be much more palatable if they didn’t charge a confiscatory 30% fee for not only downloading an app or paying for a subscription, but for purchasing absolutely anything within that app.

 

[truthsteve]

The answer to that would be in the part of my post you didn’t feel like quoting.

uh no.

you asked how much is pure profit. you didn't say there is a profit. so again I ask, who is saying that apple is profiting off of 0.50 euros/user.

 

[citysnaps]

And where exactly are we today according to you? Have your iPhone just been rendered unusable by a potential web-based app? Have you ever downloaded and installed an app on your Mac from anywhere but Apple themselves?

We'll find out over the next couple of years.

 

[Da_Shiznit]

Glad to see that we get more choices. I don't know what why a lot of people here are opposed to the idea of installing an app that's not been through the App Store. When you are on your Mac/PC you don't blink twice when you isntall a piece of software that you downloaded from GitHub or the developers website, but when it's on their phone they lose their minds. Tell me why.

 

[ric22]

All the restrictions on developers 😂 Apple gonna get slapped down once again by the EU...

 

[turbineseaplane]

Lucky EU customers

I'm jealous

 

[turbineseaplane]

When you are on your Mac/PC you don't blink twice when you isntall a piece of software that you downloaded from GitHub or the developers website, but when it's on their phone they lose their minds. Tell me why.

Stockholm Syndrome has hit hard in Apple land

The jailer has the inmates arguing to keep the bars up

 

[one more]

We'll find out over the next couple of years.

70% of smartphone market worldwide are Android-based, which is as open as it gets from its launch. I have friends on Android phones, mostly Samsung. I follow several tech sites and blogs. Guess what? No major complaints. 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[Kevin2055]

COMPANIES SHOULD NOT HAVE FREEDOM. HUMANS SHOULD HAVE FREEDOM.

That's the thing that absolutely infuriates me about liebertarians. They want to pretend companies are people and should have rights.

If a company tries to do something that is contrary to a human's rights, whether that be to block CarPlay or make it impossible to install ANY software of that human's choice on that human's personal iPhone, the company should be prohibited by law from doing it.

If you don't want to install an alternate OS on your car's infotainment system, nobody is forcing you to do it. If you only want to stick to Mommy Apple's app store, nobody is forcing you to not. All that we're asking is that Apple, which is a multinational corporation and NOT a person, be forced to give actual people their freedom.

Company only sold you the product for what it is at the moment of trade plus what is promised in the contract, nothing more or less. Smartphone is not a right in constitution for human.

 

[CrysisDeu]

Well it’s up to the devs to maintain it. Some mac apps are also no longer maintained, even from their website. Or even worse, the App store version lags behind their website version..

 

[CrysisDeu]

I don’t think it’s a fair comparison. And right now I can think of 2 reasons:
1. Unless your app is targeting solely European users, publishing it outside the AppStore would mean you’re annihilating a large share of your potential user base. Because if you’re a user based outside Europe, no matter how much you like the app, there’s no way for you to get it. On the Mac, every user can side load, so every user can still get it even if it’s published outside the AppStore (albeit with the eventual inconvenience of not having it on the AppStore)
2. Even then, developers aren’t dumb, and they know they’ll face some resistance from users to get the app from outside the AppStore, even if you’re only targeting the European public, so many developers will prefer the existing solution of publishing it on the AppStore, like the vast majority still prefer to publish on the Google PlayStore despite having the option to distribute it elsewhere. Will this happen 100% of the time? Most likely not, but I don’t think it will have that much of an impact. It will be up to the developers to decide whether having a smaller user base is worth the extra income per app sold. Right now on the Mac, the resistance from users to download something from outside the AppStore is close to zero, because it has always been like that, and people are used to it being that way.

Bonus: the other day I’ve decided to check whether the apps I have on my iPhone are available on android or not. They were either available on the PlayStore or not available on Android at all. So I’m not very concerned about these changes. Most likely close to zero practical impact. The upside is being able to get apps Apple decided to veto for God knows why, if you really want them. Will I be sideloading? Most likely not, but I’m happy for those that want to.

Yes for now, but it’s a trend I don’t want to continue happen. Of course it won’t change everything in a day, probably not even a few years. But I don’t like where this is heading

 

[Samplasion]

Company only sold you the product for what it is at the moment of trade plus what is promised in the contract, nothing more or less. Smartphone is not a right in constitution for human.

Then why, pray tell, does Apple keep pushing for more control over what isn't theirs since the moment of trade?

 

[Kevin2055]

Then why, pray tell, does Apple keep pushing for more control over what isn't theirs since the moment of trade?

For example? The only thing I could think of was the battery gate.

 

[Samplasion]

For example?

I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not, but their whole malicious compliance shtick

 

[Kevin2055]

I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not, but their whole malicious compliance shtick

Please be specific.

 

[Ethosik]

Glad to see that we get more choices. I don't know what why a lot of people here are opposed to the idea of installing an app that's not been through the App Store. When you are on your Mac/PC you don't blink twice when you isntall a piece of software that you downloaded from GitHub or the developers website, but when it's on their phone they lose their minds. Tell me why.

Yes I do. Last time I “didn’t blink twice” I had malware on my Windows 10 system. I still regularly deal with clients that get ransomware because they downloaded something random.

 

[VulchR]

Glad to see that we get more choices. I don't know what why a lot of people here are opposed to the idea of installing an app that's not been through the App Store. When you are on your Mac/PC you don't blink twice when you isntall a piece of software that you downloaded from GitHub or the developers website, but when it's on their phone they lose their minds. Tell me why.

First, I am always concerned about downloading any software on to macOS and PC's. So is my employer. My first experience with a Mac virus was nVIR, the first major PITA virus on the Mac, which caused havoc in the 1980's with my friends' PhD dissertations and mine, endangering years of work. I know macOS is far more secure now, but we lost weeks of time trying ti rid oursleves of that damned virus. Once bitten, twice shy...

Second, because of the biometric authentication on the iPhone, which is more secure than simple passwords (at least in theory), people tend to have apps controlling bank accounts and credit cards on their phones and not desktops. Also, iPhones are usually involved in two-factor authentication. That is why the security of iOS is so important.

 

[Samplasion]

Please be specific.

• Apple pretending to support right to repair but needing a state to pass legislation in order to have a reasonable situation
• Yes, Apple will allow sideloading, but it will have prohibitively high fees, insane requirements, and apps still need to go through them
• "And don't forget, if we deem that you've become a lesser European citizen, we'll take away your privileges!"
• Apparently, iPadOS is so different from iOS that it has a "whole separate store"
• And who can forget that time when Apple disabled home screen web apps in the EU in retaliation against the DMA
• Also, Apple waiting 17 years before implementing a sensible messaging standard

I could go on, but I think you get the gist.