Apple has always strived to keep the App Store as a single point of application installation for iPhone and iOS. It monitors every moment applications are present and ensures users don’t have any security or performance issues.
Apple, due to many changes, will finally consider opening iOS to a third-party app store. He hasn’t revealed how he should do it, but there will certainly be limits and a lot of control.
The emergence of third-party app stores
Regulators evaluate the many elements of the Apple ecosystem and how they fit together. He wants to prevent situations of monopoly and in which the company prevents other offers from being presented to users.
One of the main targets is the App Store, which may change soon. From what is advanced, Apple may be preparing the emergence of third-party app stores. This will lead to what many have been waiting for years: the ability to install applications outside the company's ecosystem and without its full control.
New story: Apple is preparing to allow alternative app stores and sideloading on iOS — along with a host of other changes to make the iPhone more open — in response to new European Union requirements coming in 2024. https://t.co/hZpXrKdHGj
Apple will have to allow it to be installed on iOS
Several teams are reworking the company's software to open it up to this new feature, as well as bypass some of the known limitations. Of course, it is necessary to maintain control by forcing applications to be checked and charging additional fees. It is not yet clear if third-party payment processors will be allowed.
Still without a scheduled date, it should be revealed with the advent of iOS 17 and the anticipation of some measures that Europe may force to come true. O Regulation of the digital market will be able to bring about change and thus end Apple's monopoly in this area.
Changes will also affect the NFC chip and camera access, the Find My network for AirTag competitors, web browsing mechanisms, and other areas of Apple software. The company still plans to charge developers for iOS access even with sideloading.
This EU ruling could go even further and force Apple to open up other systems. These are NFC on the iPhone, the Find My network, or controls applied to third-party browsers. Finally, and this will be more difficult, you can move to iMessage with the creation of mechanisms for interaction with other messaging services.
The most curious thing is that Apple will only be able to apply all these measures in a few selected markets and with stricter legislation. They will become the basis for something broader, but only in the future truly global and common to all.
