Apple has always strived to keep the App Store as a single install point for apps on iPhone and iOS. It controls every moment of the applications out there and ensures users that there are no security or performance issues.
With so many changes required, Apple will finally consider opening iOS to the third-party app store. He didn’t reveal how to do it, but there will certainly be limits and a lot of control.
Coming from third party app stores
Regulators have evaluated many elements of the Apple ecosystem and how they stack up against each other. It wants to prevent monopoly situations in which the company prevents other offers to users.
One of the main targets is the App Store, which may be changed soon. With that being said, Apple is probably preparing for the arrival of third-party app stores. This will lead to what many have been waiting for for years: the ability to install apps outside of 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 slew of other changes to make the iPhone more open — in response to new EU requirements arriving in 2024. https://t.co/hZpXrKdHGj
- Mark Gorman (@markgurman) December 13, 2022
Apple will have to allow it to be installed on iOS
Many teams are redesigning the company's software to open it up to this novelty, which also makes it possible to circumvent part of the known premises. Of course, control must be maintained, which forces verification of applications and additional fees. It is not yet clear whether third-party payment systems will be allowed.
Still without an exact date, it should be revealed with the arrival of iOS 17 and the expectation that some measures that may be imposed by Europe will come true. a Regulating the digital market It will be able to force change and thus end Apple's monopoly in this field.
Changes will also come to the NFC chip and camera access, AirTag competitors' Find My network, web browsing engines and other areas of Apple's software. The company still plans to charge developers for access to iOS even with sideloading.
- Mark Gorman (@markgurman) December 13, 2022
Changes do not stay in the App Store
This EU regulation could go further and force Apple to open up other systems. We are talking about the iPhone's NFC, the Find My network, or the control implemented on third-party browsers. Finally, and this will be a little more sophisticated, you can move to iMessage, creating interoperability mechanisms with other messaging services.
What's even more curious is that Apple will be able to enforce all of these measures only in a few select markets and with much more restrictive legislation. It will be the foundations for something broader, but it will be truly global and extend to everyone in the future.
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