iOS 17.5 Lets EU iPhone Users Download Apps From Websites

[Sophisticatednut]

You are not wrong, of course, but at the same time, I feel that statements such as this ring hollow and superficial and show a lack of understanding as to what makes an iPhone, uniquely an iPhone.

It’s not just the physical hardware and software features (or lack thereof). It’s also the essence. It's the whole philosophy undergirding them.

Think back to how Apple products have often been lambasted for lacking this feature or that, and that's what makes them so very unique in my perspective. Apple products have never been concerned about shipping with the most features, but about being cut down to their most basic form, with nothing standing in between them and the user.

Once upon a time, the iPhone was routinely criticised for lacking expandable storage and removable batteries, which android smartphones have had since the start. The common argument was that users were not losing anything from the addition of said features. “You don’t have to insert an sd-card into your phone if you don’t want to”, critics parroted.

As it turned out, not only did iOS users not mind the absence of said features, but more and more android phones started to also remove expandable storage and removable batteries when they noticed that having those features was not helping sales one bit. This jives in with Apple's philosophy of minimalism and purity in hardware design. They would rather simply include a larger battery than accommodate a removable battery which would otherwise sacrifice the integrity and beauty of the device, and they were probably right.

I am also the kind of person who (still) believes the MBP should come with 4 usb-c ports and nothing else, even if it is more inconvenient due to the lack of MagSafe and HDMI, simply because the product looks nicer and more "pure" with 2 ports on each side. It's the same thing there. There is a certain elegance and a particular simplicity in having to deal with only one App Store where all apps have to go through, and where you can centrally manage all your app purchases and downloads. Of course I don't have to venture outside the App Store ever, but at the same time, just its mere presence is an affront to the design principles underpinning the iPhone - minimalism and purity.

1 device, 1 App Store. My way or the highway. This was the attitude that drew me to Apple products in the first place. Maybe I am preaching to the wrong choir here?

Ironic, I guess, that I am reminded of the fable of the oak tree and the tree. Apple is that oak tree, and they have encountered a gale so strong that they cannot stand fast against it.

Well I can understand your sentiment, I would recommend you to walk down memory lane and do some reading on the sheer amount of features and functionality that iOS implemented over the years that are today a standard feature of iOS.

Maps, blue light filter, control center, replying to messages, camera and flashlight on the lock screen etc etc.

Even apple understands consumer wanted a bigger screen 10 years ago.

 

[truthsteve]

yes it is. Either you shop in the App Store and if you don't like what's offered there, you go somewhere else. I don't understand why people can figure this out for the Mac, but their brains go into short-circuit mode when it's for the iPhone.

You just completely ignored what I said. I shopped, bought the app, app moved out of the App Store, and now I'm forced to download from outside of MAS to continue using it. Not an option. Talk about brains going into short-circuit. I'm moving on.

 

[hagar]

You just completely ignored what I said. I shopped, bought the app, app moved out of the App Store, and now I'm forced to download from outside of MAS to continue using it. Not an option. Talk about brains going into short-circuit. I'm moving on.

Of course that’s an option. You go to their new shop and click download. Devs have choices too. If they don’t like to sell in the MAS, you either move with them, or you find an alternative. Do you also cry when they stop selling your cereal brand at Walmart?

 

[Da_Shiznit]

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.

Yep, and that's why iOS apps are sandboxed. The security is build in, whether you download it from the AppStore or from another platform.

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.

So am I, and that is good! A bit of personal responsibility is good. People should be more aware of what they do/click/view online. I've been using computers for over 20 years now, and I can honestly say that I have never had any Malware or viruses installed on my computers. Now... I know not all people are 'good' with computers, but there is also something called commons sense. It doesn't take a genius to notice what is safe and what isn't. People just can't be bothered, and that is bad.

I also have plenty of highly sensitive information stored on my Mac, like bank statements, taxes, contracts etc. That's why it is important that I also keep an eye out for malicious software and viruses on my Mac. If something contains personal information, then I tend to say that the user is ALSO responsible for making sure said information stays safe.

 

[CraigJDuffy]

You're missing the bigger picture. It's change of paradigm nobody asked for. We already had an Android for this kind of adventures.

I asked for it, as did many others.

 

[deckard666]

More choice is good right ? Although as a very happy current walled garden fan I wish the choice was everyone else left and went to Android and left me and Apple alone - I'd be very happy with that

 

[CraigJDuffy]

You are not wrong, of course, but at the same time, I feel that statements such as this ring hollow and superficial and show a lack of understanding as to what makes an iPhone, uniquely an iPhone.

It’s not just the physical hardware and software features (or lack thereof). It’s also the essence. It's the whole philosophy undergirding them.

Think back to how Apple products have often been lambasted for lacking this feature or that, and that's what makes them so very unique in my perspective. Apple products have never been concerned about shipping with the most features, but about being cut down to their most basic form, with nothing standing in between them and the user.

Once upon a time, the iPhone was routinely criticised for lacking expandable storage and removable batteries, which android smartphones have had since the start. The common argument was that users were not losing anything from the addition of said features. “You don’t have to insert an sd-card into your phone if you don’t want to”, critics parroted.

As it turned out, not only did iOS users not mind the absence of said features, but more and more android phones started to also remove expandable storage and removable batteries when they noticed that having those features was not helping sales one bit. This jives in with Apple's philosophy of minimalism and purity in hardware design. They would rather simply include a larger battery than accommodate a removable battery which would otherwise sacrifice the integrity and beauty of the device, and they were probably right.

I am also the kind of person who (still) believes the MBP should come with 4 usb-c ports and nothing else, even if it is more inconvenient due to the lack of MagSafe and HDMI, simply because the product looks nicer and more "pure" with 2 ports on each side. It's the same thing there. There is a certain elegance and a particular simplicity in having to deal with only one App Store where all apps have to go through, and where you can centrally manage all your app purchases and downloads. Of course I don't have to venture outside the App Store ever, but at the same time, just its mere presence is an affront to the design principles underpinning the iPhone - minimalism and purity.

1 device, 1 App Store. My way or the highway. This was the attitude that drew me to Apple products in the first place. Maybe I am preaching to the wrong choir here?

Ironic, I guess, that I am reminded of the fable of the oak tree and the tree. Apple is that oak tree, and they have encountered a gale so strong that they cannot stand fast against it.

Whew, this is some level of fanboyism.

Apple shipping hard to repair devices which lack features which users want is not something that should be celebrated (look at the 2013 Mac Pro, 2016-2020 MacBook Pros which stripped all the useful features only for them to be reintroduced with later models).

iPhones should (and arguably do) have easy to remove and replace batteries because batteries are a consumable product. Efforts to make this easier and use less tools (like they have been doing recently) are a good thing and not an afford to “purity”.

I’ve been using Apple devices before the iPhone and the 1 App Store, my way or the highway, model introduced with the iPhone feels very early 2000s Microsoft with the way they forced Internet Explorer on the world. It wasn’t good then (and was hit with a bunch of anti-trust) and it isn’t good now.

Apple used to focus on shipping great products but now they are too focused on the spreadsheet and maximising profit at the expense of the user and developer experience. They’ve been making changes recently (adding SD card slots and reliable keyboards to MacBook Pros etc) which is hopefully a sign the ship is turning back towards what made Apple great.

 

[Abazigal]

Whew, this is some level of fanboyism.

I will say that it shows different people look out for different things in products, and what makes a great product differs from person to person. It’s not always about more this, more that.

Not everything which can be measured matters. Just as not everything that matters can be measured.

 

[VulchR]

Yep, and that's why iOS apps are sandboxed. The security is build in, whether you download it from the AppStore or from another platform.
...

Good point, but on my part I want multiple layers of protection. Thus, I would have preferred the EU (and UK, US etc.) required Apple to warranty the safety of the apps in their store against known forms of hacking and unadvertised invasion of privacy. In short the EU could have had Apple work for its fee. Instead, the EU chose to Balkanise the App Store and there is likely to be a race to the bottom where the only assurances about app safety that consumers will get is caveat emptor.

 

[Samplasion]

Here we have a blast from the past.

INTERNAL APPLE PRESENTATION: We Don't Have What Consumers Want

Apple's executives know there's a problem.

www.businessinsider.com

INTERNAL APPLE PRESENTATION: We Don't Have What Consumers Want​

View attachment 2365572

Steve Jobs Turned Out To Be Completely Wrong About The Key Reason People Like The iPhone

"No one's going to buy that."

www.businessinsider.com

Jobs held a news conference. He was asked, why not just make the phone bigger, so that the antenna might have more space within the device and thus get better reception?

He replied that he disliked the new crop of bigger phones from Samsung et al. "You can't get your hand around it," he said, "no one's going to buy that." He also derided big phones as "Hummers."
View attachment 2365575

Very interesting! I find point 4 of the last image really interesting as well, since you'd guess from reading the comments here that lightning was the best invention since sliced bread

 

[Sophisticatednut]

Good point, but on my part I want multiple layers of protection. Thus, I would have preferred the EU (and UK, US etc.) required Apple to warranty the safety of the apps in their store against known forms of hacking and unadvertised invasion of privacy. In short the EU could have had Apple work for its fee. Instead, the EU chose to Balkanise the App Store and there is likely to be a race to the bottom where the only assurances about app safety that consumers will get is caveat emptor.

Well I would quote you
Margrethe Vestager on march 19 warned Apple
"I would think of it as unwise to say that the services are not safe to use, because that has nothing to do with the DMA. The DMA is there to open the market for other service providers to get to you and how your service provider of your operating system, how they will make sure that it is safe is for them to decide," she said.

"And of course, if we see or get the suspicion that this is in order to say that someone else are not doing their job of course, we might take initiatives to look into that."

Very interesting! I find point 4 of the last image really interesting as well, since you'd guess from reading the comments here that lightning was the best invention since sliced bread

Well one interesting point is the fact the chief executive of the EU commission is an Apple fan and iPhone user since day one perhaps. The one pushing DMA is an Apple fan 😂😂😂

Kara Swisher: Margrethe Vestager Shows Tech Gatekeepers The Door 18 mars 2024

Margrethe Vestager Shows Tech Gatekeepers The Door

Poddavsnitt · On with Kara Swisher · 2024-03-18 · 51 min

podcasts.apple.com

11:40 Apple has the approach”
“Apple very often has the approach, we cannot be criticized, this cannot be right.
I think that is quite specific for the company culture. And admittedly, they make great products. You know, I'm an iPhone user, I have been that for as long as I can remember.
So to some degree, obviously, I understand it.”


12:10 Apple said ”we asked for regulation, but not that regulation”

 

[makitango]

terrible UX. no thanks.

glad Apple is doing the 0.50 euro fee. developers should not be freeloading off the hard work Apple has done to make this possible.

So if I design a car that is capable of driving in a far-away country, I should also pay that country since they made it possible for us to be driven there, by building roads?

 

[truthsteve]

So if I design a car that is capable of driving in a far-away country, I should also pay that country since they made it possible for us to be driven there, by building roads?

you already do. when you buy gas in that country. that goes towards building roads and other things.

of course this breaks down with electric vehicles as states and countries are still figuring out how to charge a tax to pay for roads, so the analogy doesn't really apply currently.

 

[Sophisticatednut]

you already do. when you buy gas in that country. that goes towards building roads and other things.

of course this breaks down with electric vehicles as states and countries are still figuring out how to charge a tax to pay for roads, so the analogy doesn't really apply currently.

That’s the point… you pay that in the other country. You don’t pay the taxes to the car manufacturer or the original country when you’re using other infrastructure with the already paid thing you have.