Installing a third-party app store is now possible for iPhone owners in the EU – but it’s not exactly a quick and easy process.
It seems safe to bet that this is a deliberate move by Apple to keep people away from it – something that will likely land the company in court on antitrust charges…
Third-party app stores
The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) requires Apple to allow third-party app stores on the iPhone, and the company has responded reluctantly.
At the time Apple announced the change, back in January, we noticed the company’s extreme reluctance to comply.
The text of Apple’s announcement makes it clear that the company is only reluctantly complying with a law it believes should never have been passed […] The impression Apple wants to create is that this is essentially the end of app civilization as we know it.
The company also introduced an annual core technology fee (CTF) of €0.50 (55c) per app install, meaning that if you offer a free app that goes viral, you could be filing for bankruptcy rather than celebrating. Many freemium apps work on a business model where a small fraction of their users upgrade to the paid version, but if they reach over a million downloads, they pay for all non-paying users as well.
Third-party app stores themselves pay CTF from the first install, meaning they are potentially running millions of Euro bills without any guaranteed income.
The EU said it was not satisfied with Apple’s compliance with the law and opened a formal investigation into non-compliance.
Installing a third-party app store
The Verge I tried the process of installing a third-party app store and found it to be far from simple.
First, some stores will pass on a fee of €0.50 to users. While this is a very small amount for an individual, it can be enough to deter the occasional decision to look at an alternative app store.
Another potential barrier to widespread adoption of third-party marketplaces is how inconvenient they are, with each store requiring about a dozen screen interactions to install.
It goes like this: You start by clicking a link in your browser to load an alternative store. From there, you’ll get a popup informing you that your installation settings don’t allow that developer’s marketplaces. Then you go to Settings, enable the marketplace, go back to your browser, click the download link again, and get another prompt asking you to confirm the installation. Finally, you can open the store and browse the available apps.
It’s not a difficult procedure to follow, but there are enough steps and intimidating language to be irritating and act as a deterrent — especially when Apple’s App Store requires just one click to launch. It’s hard to see this as anything other than the company’s attempt to sap people’s energy and discourage them from continuing, especially given Apple’s historical prowess in designing user experiences.
And only for apps made by the developer who runs the app store. Third-party apps require an extra step to add them as the “source” of the app.
AltStore allows you to add resources, which are URLs shared by developers that contain JSON files that contain application metadata. Once these sources are added, the apps they point to can be downloaded from the AltStore. It’s little Beginning-esque: stores within stores.
But it could be worth it
I’m not a gamer so I couldn’t share The Verge’s excitement about Nintendo’s emulator, Delta. But the Clip clipboard manager sounds like huge an improvement over those available in the official App Store – as it can run permanently in the background.
For example, Paste [from the official App Store] requires you to open the app every time you want to add something you’ve copied to the clipboard.
By comparison, this is where Clip succeeds. When you copy something, you’re immediately notified and can swipe down to save it to the clipboard. This means you have the option to add it if it’s something useful — like an address — or dismiss the notification if it’s something you don’t want recorded, like a password. I find saving your copied items like this in a centralized location incredibly useful because it makes sharing and reusing these clips painless.
Essentially, you get jailbreak-style benefits, but with security measures like an app security environment in place, and all apps are still subject to review and certification by Apple.
9to5Mac’s Take
I would agree with The Verge’s an assessment that Apple is deliberately making the process as difficult and terrifying as possible to protect its own App Store revenues. With such a convoluted process and a small fee on top of that, only experienced users are likely to install third-party app stores.
When it comes to security, Apple is trying to have its cake and eat it too. On the one hand, it says that all apps sold through third-party app stores will be vulnerable exactly the same application review process like those sold in the official App Store. On the other hand, it wants to tell users that they should worry about the security of apps… that Apple has approved as safe.
The EU has already indicated that both the safety warnings and the fee are unlikely to be considered compliant. An official finding in this regard is almost certain, but it could take up to a year. In the meantime, be prepared to jump through some hoops if you’re in the EU and want to use these app stores.
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