Apple prepares to enable sideloading and App Store changes in EU

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Apple may enable users to sideload apps on iPhones and iPads in Europe within weeks, an act that will also see Apple split the App Store into two versions.

Europe's Digital Markets Act has caused headaches for tech companies, including Apple, with the aim of leveling the playing field and reducing the power of so-called gatekeepers.

Apple has anticipated that the DMA will force it into enabling third-party app storefronts alongside the App Store itself on its devices, but according to one report, it may actually happen within weeks.

According to Mark Gurman in a paid-only part of the "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg on Sunday, Apple is preparing to enable sideloading in Europe "in the coming weeks." The move will enable third-party app stores to be installed on iPhones and iPads without needing to comply with Apple's App Store rules.

However, the change apparently won't be affecting all iPhone and iPad users, as it will be limited to only European devices.

As a byproduct of the change, Apple will also split the App Store into two versions, with one covering EU member states and the other for the rest of the world. While the reasoning for this wasn't spelled out, it is likely to be a move to make it easier for Apple to comply with EU rules without making changes affecting other markets.

While there's a report claiming the changes are inbound, they may not necessarily occur. In November, Apple filed a legal challenge over the demand for third-party app stores, and has even "corrected" the European Union over the number of App Stores it actually runs.

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22 Comments

rob53

said about 3 months ago

Good luck Europe. Prepare to be controlled by your government requiring loading of government-sponsored malware tracking your every movement without any need for a warrant. The first third-party app storefront will be controlled by your local police force, requiring every citizen to load government specific software. In many cases you won't even know they're loading monitoring software, you'll be required to load a government app that includes voter ID, driver's license, etc. Everything in one app will be presented as software everyone needs for taxes and every other government process. Guess what's going to also be loaded in the background .... yep, monitoring software so they know where you're at and what you're doing. Have fun!!

chasm

said about 3 months ago

rob53 said:

Good luck Europe. Prepare to be controlled by your government requiring loading of government-sponsored malware tracking your every movement without any need for a warrant. The first third-party app storefront will be controlled by your local police force, requiring every citizen to load government specific software. In many cases you won't even know they're loading monitoring software, you'll be required to load a government app that includes voter ID, driver's license, etc. Everything in one app will be presented as software everyone needs for taxes and every other government process. Guess what's going to also be loaded in the background .... yep, monitoring software so they know where you're at and what you're doing. Have fun!!

You don’t get out much, clearly.

tech_traveller

said about 3 months ago

"Apple will also split the App Store into two versions, with one covering EU member states and the other for the rest of the world."

So will that be a part of the pre existing 5 or will that make the total number of app stores 6?

/s

ericthehalfbee

said about 3 months ago

When (not if) millions of EU users start getting malware on their iPhones, who should they blame?

Or more correctly, who should they sue?

Alex_V

said about 3 months ago

rob53 said:

Good luck Europe. Prepare to be controlled by your government requiring loading of government-sponsored malware tracking your every movement without any need for a warrant. The first third-party app storefront will be controlled by your local police force, requiring every citizen to load government specific software. In many cases you won't even know they're loading monitoring software, you'll be required to load a government app that includes voter ID, driver's license, etc. Everything in one app will be presented as software everyone needs for taxes and every other government process. Guess what's going to also be loaded in the background .... yep, monitoring software so they know where you're at and what you're doing. Have fun!!

You mean, like the commercial malware that Google installs on every computer tracking your every move, reading every email and document, while denying you any privacy at all? Or, do you mean the commercial malware that Facebook uses to track your movements, your social network, likes and dislike, and monitoring your phone and linking your number to your purchases, memberships etc., that is, your life away from the internet. Or, do you mean the commercial cookie hell that was the internet before the EU stepped in and regulated that kak? All of this thanks to your pole-dancing prostitutes that you call ‘representatives’ doing nothing to reign in the most egregious invasions of privacy and attacks on personal freedom being unleashed from the bowels of capitalist Silicon Valley. Is that what you mean?