Report: Apple wants to open iOS with version 17 for sideloading of apps

So far, the App Store is the only official way to get new software onto iPhone and other iOS devices. With the introduction of iOS 17, however, this will apparently change, because Apple will then supposedly open the operating system for so-called sideloading of apps.

Like the US Economic Service Bloomberg reports, whose author Mark Gurman has the best connections to Apple sources, the US computer group wants to create the conditions for the so-called sideloading of apps with the next major version of its mobile operating system.

EU regulations force opening for third-party app stores & sideloading

Specifically, Bloomberg says that with version 17 Apple wants to open up the installation of apps from sources other than the official in-house app store. Apple wants to meet the requirements set by the European Union, which the company must implement under the EU Digital Markets Act.

Although the DMA will come into force as early as May 2024, there are certain transitional periods that are intended to enable the providers affected to adapt to the new legal situation. Among other things, the new regulations stipulate that Apple must create the possibility of making third-party app stores usable on iOS. It must also be possible to install apps from third-party sources without going through an app store. In this way, the EU wants to ensure that the large suppliers do not gain overwhelming market power and that smaller suppliers have no chance of establishing themselves with their products from the outset. According to previous reports, Apple intends to open up sideloading only in the European Union markets, i.e. Germany and other European countries, but not in the USA and elsewhere.

In the future, dealing with iOS in the EU would differ significantly from the user experience in other regions of the world if sideloading of apps actually became possible. However, Apple is likely to develop various methods to design the process in such a way that only a few users use this scenario, for example by advertising the security aspects of the app store.

See also:

Apple, Windows, App, Software, Cloud, Microsoft Store, Backup, iCloud, iCloud Drive