One permanent fixture of the iPhone since 2008, when the App Store came into existence, has been that it is the only way to install an app. Unlike on Android, where apps can be installed directly or through third-party app stores – although Google advises against it – on an iPhone the only way is Apple’s way or highway. But now Apple, in response to the Digital Markets Act in Europe, may have to relax its guidelines and may have to allow third-party stores.
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The move, if at all Apple takes, will essentially allow iPhone users to sideload apps. Until now, if they want to sideload apps, the only option for them has been through jailbreaking the phone. Although, in recent years with Apple adding many essential features to the iOS, has most users reduced a need for jailbreaking on their iPhone.
The news about Apple allowing third-party app stores in Europe surfaced recently when the iPhone-maker filed its latest financial and business guidelines with the SEC in the US. In its Form K-10 note Apple wrote, “The Company expects to make further business changes in the future, including as a result of legislative initiatives impacting the App Store… such as the European Union (“EU”) Digital Markets Act, which the Company is required to comply with by March 2024.”
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“Future changes could also affect what the Company charges developers for access to its platforms, and how it manages distribution of apps outside of the App Store,” Apple noted. “And how and to what extent it allows developers to communicate with consumers inside the App Store regarding alternative purchasing mechanisms.”
If Apple indeed takes a step to allow third-party app stores on the iPhone in the European Union, this would be the second significant walk-back from Apple after prodding from European regulators. Recently, the company moved the iPhone to USB-C and got rid of the much-vaunted Lighting connector. The move was forced by the European regulators who have argued that tech companies selling phones and other gadgets must use a uniform charging port – in this case the USB C.
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Calls on Apple to allow third-party app stores so that users have a choice aren’t new. But in the past the company has always advocated that the only way to install apps on an iPhone or iPad must be through the App Store. Apple says that this allows it to offer better security and privacy to users as well as helps it control the quality of apps that are available to iPhone users.
