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Not a Apple apologist, but I do own a bunch of iThings. Apple's made a very opinionated choice in choosing what software to allow on the AppStore. On the Mac t

Not a Apple apologist, but I do own a bunch of iThings. Apple's made a very opinionated choice in choosing what software to allow on the AppStore. On the Mac this isn't a fatal problem for developers due to the ability to side load applications. It’s the fact that apps can't be side loaded on iOS that causes the real damage (imo). But I also think Apple should be able to run their app store as they see fit. Apple seems to be trying to figure out a way to have it all. They want a vibrant developer community without the all of the hairy cruft that comes with true choice, like viruses and malware. Again, imo, they lose something by forcing this choice down everyone's throat. They create too much friction for developers. There is that bottom-line terror every time a dev thinks about writing an app for iOS: will Apple allow this app to exist? To me, this is a horrible and limiting thing to have to even consider and the reason that in the long run Apple will have to give this idea up or see their platform slowly fade over time. I'm torn, because I am glad that my Mom can be relatively safe when running her iPad with its limited selection of apps. But the idea that I have to think about whether or not an arbitrary person working at a huge multi-national can terminate my idea for an application is just too much freedom to give up. Not sure what the answer is, but official app side loading would go a LONG way (for me) towards reducing that friction.

kristofferR 9y ago
Apps can be sideloaded on iOS really easily. There's a whole community of people (https://reddit.com/r/sideloaded https://reddit.com/r/sideloaded) around modifying apps and sideloading them. https://ipasigner.io https://ipasigner.io is an example - just click the app you want to install, go into iOS settings and give permissions to the cert, and boom you have a new sideloaded app installed. Takes less than a minute, no computer required. It used to be even simpler in iOS 8, but Apple complicated the process a little bit for valid security reasons: https://blog.lookout.com/ios-9-sideloading https://blog.lookout.com/ios-9-sideloading The only friction is that the sideloaded apps will only work for 7 days unless you (or someone else like on ipasigner.io) have a paid developer account. If you want to sideload your own apps, Cydia Extender is a great tool.
- mikeash 9y ago
  "Really easily" and "only works for seven days and you can only have a few of them installed at once" are mutually contradictory. Getting a paid developer account doesn't eliminate the restrictions, either, it just raises the limits some. Sideloading does not exist on iOS except as a gimmick, an annoying workaround for people who really need it and are willing to spend a lot of time maintaining it, or an unsanctioned use of enterprise signing certificates that go against Apple's terms and can be shut down at any moment if they notice what's going on. (ipadsigner.io is the last one.)
  - kristofferR 9y ago
    > Getting a paid developer account doesn't eliminate the restrictions, either, it just raises the limits some. The day limit is raised from 7 days to 365 days, and the max installed sideloaded apps is raised from 3 to unlimited. I agree with you that there shouldn't be limits at all, but the limits for the developer account are quite generous. Sideloading on iOS works great overall, if you agree that even sideloaded apps should be required to be signed.
    - int_19h 9y ago
      If you want to see what "sideloading works great" experience looks like, as a baseline, look at Android and Win10.
matthewmacleod 9y ago
There is that bottom-line terror every time a dev thinks about writing an app for iOS: will Apple allow this app to exist? To me, this is a horrible and limiting thing to have to even consider and the reason that in the long run Apple will have to give this idea up or see their platform slowly fade over time. I'm not convinced. We all know the rules: "Don't take the piss".
- sangnoir 9y ago
  > I'm not convinced. We all know the rules: "Don't take the piss" Where the definition of "taking the piss" is determined by Apple alone and is subject to change.
- mikeash 9y ago
  Where "take the piss" includes things like "have a toggle to hide NSFW subreddits in your Reddit client," "track drone strikes," "feature Buzz Aldrin with his enthusiastic permission," "mention the existence of Android on your support page on your web site," and "a lock screen widget that lets you take notes."
  - jacquesm 9y ago
    And most importantly: don't compete with anything Apple did, does or intends to do at some undefined point in the future.

kristofferR 9y ago

Apps can be sideloaded on iOS really easily. There's a whole community of people (https://reddit.com/r/sideloaded https://reddit.com/r/sideloaded) around modifying apps and sideloading them. https://ipasigner.io https://ipasigner.io is an example - just click the app you want to install, go into iOS settings and give permissions to the cert, and boom you have a new sideloaded app installed. Takes less than a minute, no computer required. It used to be even simpler in iOS 8, but Apple complicated the process a little bit for valid security reasons: https://blog.lookout.com/ios-9-sideloading https://blog.lookout.com/ios-9-sideloading The only friction is that the sideloaded apps will only work for 7 days unless you (or someone else like on ipasigner.io) have a paid developer account. If you want to sideload your own apps, Cydia Extender is a great tool.

mikeash 9y ago
"Really easily" and "only works for seven days and you can only have a few of them installed at once" are mutually contradictory. Getting a paid developer account doesn't eliminate the restrictions, either, it just raises the limits some. Sideloading does not exist on iOS except as a gimmick, an annoying workaround for people who really need it and are willing to spend a lot of time maintaining it, or an unsanctioned use of enterprise signing certificates that go against Apple's terms and can be shut down at any moment if they notice what's going on. (ipadsigner.io is the last one.)
- kristofferR 9y ago
  > Getting a paid developer account doesn't eliminate the restrictions, either, it just raises the limits some. The day limit is raised from 7 days to 365 days, and the max installed sideloaded apps is raised from 3 to unlimited. I agree with you that there shouldn't be limits at all, but the limits for the developer account are quite generous. Sideloading on iOS works great overall, if you agree that even sideloaded apps should be required to be signed.
  - int_19h 9y ago
    If you want to see what "sideloading works great" experience looks like, as a baseline, look at Android and Win10.

matthewmacleod 9y ago

There is that bottom-line terror every time a dev thinks about writing an app for iOS: will Apple allow this app to exist? To me, this is a horrible and limiting thing to have to even consider and the reason that in the long run Apple will have to give this idea up or see their platform slowly fade over time. I'm not convinced. We all know the rules: "Don't take the piss".

sangnoir 9y ago
> I'm not convinced. We all know the rules: "Don't take the piss" Where the definition of "taking the piss" is determined by Apple alone and is subject to change.
mikeash 9y ago
Where "take the piss" includes things like "have a toggle to hide NSFW subreddits in your Reddit client," "track drone strikes," "feature Buzz Aldrin with his enthusiastic permission," "mention the existence of Android on your support page on your web site," and "a lock screen widget that lets you take notes."
- jacquesm 9y ago
  And most importantly: don't compete with anything Apple did, does or intends to do at some undefined point in the future.