5 ms·

A future for iPhone app stores

49 points by marcprux 3y ago

mcphage 3y ago
> With a quarter-trillion dollars of revenue at stake, and under vigilant public scrutiny, we can expect very careful adherence to the letter of the legislation. I agree, although given the very long list of questions that the author proposes later in the article... if that much is left unsaid by the letter of the legislation, then this is probably going to be a shitshow. > What does compliance look like, exactly? For everyday iPhone users, how will you find and install independently-distributed apps? Will they be listed in a separate section of the “App Store” app [...] What?
- marcprux 3y ago
  > > [...] Will they be listed in a separate section of the “App Store” app [...] > What? There is currently an Unlisted Apps (https://developer.apple.com/support/unlisted-app-distribution https://developer.apple.com/support/unlisted-app-distributio...) model, so there could conceivably be an "Independent Apps" model that passes unreviewed apps through to a special section of the App Store.
  - TedDoesntTalk 3y ago
    Why wouldn’t the answer be the same as on android: install alternative app stores (like F-Droid). The alternative app stores themselves can be apps.
gjsman-1000 3y ago
I think it will, unfortunately, be a lot less interesting than people are hoping for. 1. It will almost certainly be EU-exclusive. Maybe tied to an EU SIM card. 2. It will likely only be on iOS, as that's the only "gatekeeper" operating system that the EU has recognized Apple as having. Apple Watch? iPads? Far less likely to support sideloading. 3. I wouldn't be shocked if sideloading is restricted to Apple-approved 3rd-party App Stores to minimize security risks (no direct installation of an IPA like you would an APK). Which would, arguably, still be compliant. 4. In almost all legal cases including in the US, nobody has recognized Apple's 30% cut as being illegal. Another example is Denmark's dating apps rule, where you can opt-out of using Apple's in-app purchases framework, but Apple will demand a 26% commission through legal contract (basically, you get 4% off for using your own credit card provider). It is possible that apps installed through sideloading will still be legally obligated to give Apple that cut, which would be... very pointless for anything other than emulators and apps that Apple wouldn't normally allow. 5. Apple appears to have successfully argued that iMessage usage, within the EU, is too low to be considered a "gatekeeper," and the EU appears to be in agreement. No interoperability is coming there.
- intothemild 3y ago
  That last part about iMessage, that's the one where I'm doubtful. I know that Europeans use other apps, I live here. But my point is simple, you buy an iPhone, iMessage is enabled by default. You're going to message someone else on iMessage for sure. So I just don't trust it. Like, here in Norway, iPhones are very common. iMessage is so ubiquitous. Sure that's only a couple mil users, but it's also just one country. The EU is many countries.
  - xenonite 3y ago
    And Norway isn’t in the EU ;) In the central EU, I mostly see just WhatsApp, rarely Signal and Telegram. However it might be different up in the north though, I dont know that.
    - intothemild 3y ago
      Yeah I hit submit before I was going to make that point.
  - realusername 3y ago
    I never heard of anyone using iMessage daily here in France, the platform is basically dead, maybe facetime managed to survive but that's about it. Everybody is using either Messenger or Whatsapp. The fact that iMessage being marketed as an SMS app and SMS being dead certainly doesn't help.
- ko27 3y ago
  No. 3 (only Apple-approved 3rd-party App Stores) is definitely not compliant. No. 4 (legally obligated to give Apple cut) is flat out wrong. While it might be true that Apple's 30% cut is not ruled illegal, it's a far cry away from Apple having any legal mechanism to enforce a fee after a transaction has happened. Trying to ban 3rd party apps is going to get them into more trouble.
  - gjsman-1000 3y ago
    Well, the Digital Markets Act has a paragraph Apple is going to drive a locomotive through in the courtroom. "In order to ensure that third-party software applications or software application stores do not endanger the integrity of the hardware or operating system provided by the gatekeeper, it should be possible for the gatekeeper concerned to implement proportionate technical or contractual measures to achieve that goal if the gatekeeper demonstrates that such measures are necessary and justified and that there are no less-restrictive means to safeguard the integrity of the hardware or operating system. The integrity of the hardware or the operating system should include any design options that need to be implemented and maintained in order for the hardware or the operating system to be protected against unauthorised access, by ensuring that security controls specified for the hardware or the operating system concerned cannot be compromised. Furthermore, in order to ensure that third-party software applications or software application stores do not undermine end users’ security, it should be possible for the gatekeeper to implement strictly necessary and proportionate measures and settings, other than default settings, enabling end users to effectively protect security in relation to third-party software applications or software application stores if the gatekeeper demonstrates that such measures and settings are strictly necessary and justified and that there are no less-restrictive means to achieve that goal. The gatekeeper should be prevented from implementing such measures as a default setting or as pre-installation." Are we really sure that Apple won't argue that permitting only 3rd-party App Stores and not individual apps, and imposing contractual obligations on those third party App stores, isn't "proportionate technical or contractual measures"?
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
SheinhardtWigCo 3y ago
Prediction: iOS will get a stricter form of "System Integrity Protection" (the macOS feature that allows you to disable most of the sandboxing and code signing policy). The process for disabling it will be even more onerous and scary than it is on macOS, which requires rebooting into Recovery mode and typing a command into a terminal. Third-party app stores and other unapproved software will be available if the user disables SIP, but financial apps and the NFC chip will be blocked. Therefore nobody will do it, and Apple will say "told you so".
- wmf 3y ago
  Kids would absolutely disable SIP to get Fortnite and that's a scenario Apple doesn't want. More straightforward sideloading scenarios are more likely.
  - pohuing 3y ago
    Even if that means they can't pay using their phone anymore? I know I removed magisk because my banking app stops working with just the manager installed.
    - wmf 3y ago
      Kids probably don't use Apple Pay or banking apps?
      - pohuing 3y ago
        I would be shocked if the majority of kids don't have a bank account nowadays. I know I did at 14 despite living in cash-dependent Germany.
  - vineyardmike 3y ago
    Kids doing it absolutely OK with Apple. They’re not going to lose money there. The problem is the kids parents. When kid borrows dad’s phone and disables banking apps, dad will be upset. When aunt Jane ends up with 12 app stores and “Panterist” apps that don’t work the same as her daughter’s “Pinterest” app, she’s going to blame Apple. Maybe even clog up support. Just look at how much A/B testing causes problems on apps - now imagine the knockoff apps and the support required for unofficial apps. Regardless of your views on this, Apple claims everything on the App Store is “theirs”. Listen to their marketing copy and court statements. Those apps are theirs to sell, and they think they have a claim to the entire iPhone UX. They obviously can’t manage the crap that will flood the market from 3p app stores. They will absolutely trash the permissions or UX of these apps to protect their image. It’s obviously about the money, but I genuinely believe that Apple leadership will be reacting emotionally viewing those app stores as a threat. My suspicion is that they’ll make the iPhone “run software” but gate more of the SDK and on-device APIs behind contracts and NDAs. Gaining access to various docs and terms will get way more expensive, and become a legal affair instead of the mostly self-service process it is today. For example, no way they allow you to use HomeKit or WeatherKit or *Kit sdk with a non-AppStore contract.
meepmorp 3y ago
Got to be honest, qua customer, I have zero interest in alternative app stores. Maybe I'd care as a developer because I'd have money on the line, but I just have zero interest. And, fwiw, I'd rather have Apple act as my payment intermediary than hand out payment information to more parties. I'm sure it's great or whatever, but I can't see it.
- lloydatkinson 3y ago
  It’s going to lead to a stream of low quality shitware the likes of which you see in Samsung or Amazon app stores. Those Apple guidelines prevent those being listed in the Apple store.
  - pcl 3y ago
    I expect that one important difference here is that iPhones will still presumably run the Apple App Store out of the box / in parallel to whatever other answers emerge. This differs from the Samsung / Amazon model because the initial store is likely to be less of a disaster, and different distribution mechanisms will perhaps become known for their quality, among other factors. You could imagine multiple app stores, in which you have a wild-west store but also the default Apple one and a "maker store" one focused on CAD apps and 3D printing gear and whatnot, with different levels of moderation / curation in each. (An aside -- whenever I look at the Apple App Store's home page, it always seems filled with all sorts of crap I'm uninterested in. I haven't used the Amazon or Samsung stores, but I hardly think the Apple App Store curation process has resulted in a paragon of quality...)
  - joemi 3y ago
    It'll be even worse, because most non-shit apps will stick with Apple's store, so the third party stores will (for the most part) _only_ have low quality apps.
- pcl 3y ago
  Really? It doesn't bother you that you need to manually navigate to the Amazon web app to buy a Prime movie or a Kindle book, or the equivalents for any other digital assets you might be interested in?
gehsty 3y ago
I am generally onboard with none native AppStore’s provided the platform vendors are able to have sensible defaults that will not confuse or limit what none technical people can do (basically iPhones should ship as they are but users can add none native AppStore’s by jumping through some fairly trivial hoops..) The bit where it falls down for me is where does it end, if Apple / google are forced to open up their platforms so epic etc can have their own app stores, are Epic etc forced to open up their platforms (the Fortnite store for instance) so others parties can open their own stores within the game?
- SheinhardtWigCo 3y ago
  No because Fortnite isn't an integral part of most people's lives and doesn't underpin a significant portion of the economy.
- crazygringo 3y ago
  That would be amazingly ironic if Epic, in its quest to free Apple's App Store, wound up with a court decision that destroyed any profitability of its own...
- wmf 3y ago
  are Epic etc forced to open up their platforms (the Fortnite store for instance) so others parties can open their own stores within the game? The law has a specific definition of "gatekeepers" and so far Epic is not on the list. https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/digital-markets-act-ensuring-fair-and-open-digital-markets_en https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-...
fidotron 3y ago
Meta (and to some extent Google) are going to have to be careful, as the obvious temptation for them is to open their own app delivery mechanism which is far more liberal with data collection and permissions. In the Google case they could probably technical deliver a Play Store for iOS complete with delivering a massive subset of Android apps in an emulated environment. The problem is just how sticky their apps prove to be once outside the trusted confines of the App Store, and so I wouldn't be surprised if more things stay within the walled garden than we expect. The other massive question is who will be allowed to run the stores. If you've uploaded an app in the last few years the big change is the number of assertions you have to make about UAC and news content (or lack of) has exploded. It will be curious if the EU end up releasing forces which create widespread new less American filtered media distribution.
- willio58 3y ago
  While more iOS "appstores" will exist in the coming years, does that really mean those apps will be able to circumvent privacy-related requirements that Apple has set? For example let's take the camera. You have to give an app permission to use your camera. Will another appstore's app just be able to circumvent that? I doubt it. If my assumption isn't the case I'd love to know though!
  - vineyardmike 3y ago
    The question with this mostly comes down to the EU - do they consider this cohesion or punishment on apples part. Sure it’s easy to say camera security is good, but where does it end… can Apple gate every feature? What about new features? Will Apple open up the settings app to third party apps - will they even be able to be managed centrally?
  - heisenzombie 3y ago
    Many of the privacy/security/data restrictions that Apple imposes on apps are not and can not be enforced by technical means (e.g. just gating APIs behind system-level permission dialogs). They require some combination of manual review, automated code analysis, and just plain old attestations made by the developer (e.g. "we will not sell any of your data or use it for advertising") where the recourse is kicking a developer off the store if they are lying.
BigBalli 3y ago
It's odd... I feel like I shouldn't feel this way but I actually wish it wasn't happening. I appreciate Apple's gatekeeping, for the sake of privacy and security. As a developer, I also do not object to their cut of sales for providing a straightforward marketing and distribution channel.
- TheHappyOddish 3y ago
  Agreed. It confuses me why loud people (who mostly seem to be Android users) push continually for this. I'm content with my walled garden, as most iPhone users seem to be. If I wasn't, I'd use Android. And publishers taking a cut is normal in every industry. I don't see the problem.
mrtksn 3y ago
None of this will matter unless someone figures out a mainstream use case for non-Apple app store. Maybe Fortnite can be a thing? Maybe Elon Musk can try push his everything app vision? Maybe piracy? I don't know but Apple's App Store rules, although not perfect, serve the iPhone users very well. If there was a mainstream use case, it should have happened on Android. Other than that, good for all the geeks out there. iPhones might turne even more versatile and still secure if installing apps from outside of the AppStore is hard enough to discourage a non techie but easy enough so any teenager can do it. On most cases the Apple's commission is nothing, it's a well deserved fee for Apple making selling and distributing and getting paid for an app a breeze. The only negative IMHO is that it weeds out all the nerdy folks who would like to experiment new things on their device. Overall, I expect positive outcomes for everyone.
irrational 3y ago
I haven't purchased any apps in many years (despite having an iphone since 2007). The main reason is many of the apps I would have been interested in have moved to a subscription model. I'm not even willing to subscribe to Netflix, much less an app. So all the apps I use today are either ones I purchased one time in the past, are free, or are built in. I'm not sure having more app stores is going to change anything for me.
- xethos 3y ago
  > I'm not sure having more app stores is going to change anything for me I'd assume this is exactly the kind of thing that would change how many apps you can get. I avoid the Google Play Store like the plague, because nearly every app is full of ads, costly, or wants a subscription. I've paid for apps previously, but have since moved to acquiring nearly all apps through F-Droid. What happens to the number of apps you, personally, are willing to install, when an equivalent FLOSS app store shows up for iOS devices?
daft_pink 3y ago
I would really just love an alternate browser
henrisjenny 3y ago
I'm Miss Magnolia Zel Matthew, from Bettendorf IOWA, United States of America. I am a single Mom of two Kids' I was deceived by a guy who I met on social media he made me believe that he could help me invest well and earn a profit within a short period that could get me a house so I entrusted all my savings into the trading stock platform, only for me to find out after 5 months the site shut down and the guy is nowhere to be found, he scammed me, I was at the point of committing suicide when I read an article about (brunoequickhack AT GMAil.com) Crypto Recovery Service and I reached out to them, with their service I got all lost back within 72 hours all thanks to Brunoe Quickhack. brunoequickhack.wixsite.com/my-site

49 points by marcprux 3y ago

> With a quarter-trillion dollars of revenue at stake, and under vigilant public scrutiny, we can expect very careful adherence to the letter of the legislation. I agree, although given the very long list of questions that the author proposes later in the article... if that much is left unsaid by the letter of the legislation, then this is probably going to be a shitshow. > What does compliance look like, exactly? For everyday iPhone users, how will you find and install independently-distributed apps? Will they be listed in a separate section of the “App Store” app [...] What?

marcprux 3y ago
> > [...] Will they be listed in a separate section of the “App Store” app [...] > What? There is currently an Unlisted Apps (https://developer.apple.com/support/unlisted-app-distribution https://developer.apple.com/support/unlisted-app-distributio...) model, so there could conceivably be an "Independent Apps" model that passes unreviewed apps through to a special section of the App Store.
- TedDoesntTalk 3y ago
  Why wouldn’t the answer be the same as on android: install alternative app stores (like F-Droid). The alternative app stores themselves can be apps.

gjsman-1000 3y ago

I think it will, unfortunately, be a lot less interesting than people are hoping for. 1. It will almost certainly be EU-exclusive. Maybe tied to an EU SIM card. 2. It will likely only be on iOS, as that's the only "gatekeeper" operating system that the EU has recognized Apple as having. Apple Watch? iPads? Far less likely to support sideloading. 3. I wouldn't be shocked if sideloading is restricted to Apple-approved 3rd-party App Stores to minimize security risks (no direct installation of an IPA like you would an APK). Which would, arguably, still be compliant. 4. In almost all legal cases including in the US, nobody has recognized Apple's 30% cut as being illegal. Another example is Denmark's dating apps rule, where you can opt-out of using Apple's in-app purchases framework, but Apple will demand a 26% commission through legal contract (basically, you get 4% off for using your own credit card provider). It is possible that apps installed through sideloading will still be legally obligated to give Apple that cut, which would be... very pointless for anything other than emulators and apps that Apple wouldn't normally allow. 5. Apple appears to have successfully argued that iMessage usage, within the EU, is too low to be considered a "gatekeeper," and the EU appears to be in agreement. No interoperability is coming there.

intothemild 3y ago
That last part about iMessage, that's the one where I'm doubtful. I know that Europeans use other apps, I live here. But my point is simple, you buy an iPhone, iMessage is enabled by default. You're going to message someone else on iMessage for sure. So I just don't trust it. Like, here in Norway, iPhones are very common. iMessage is so ubiquitous. Sure that's only a couple mil users, but it's also just one country. The EU is many countries.
- xenonite 3y ago
  And Norway isn’t in the EU ;) In the central EU, I mostly see just WhatsApp, rarely Signal and Telegram. However it might be different up in the north though, I dont know that.
  - intothemild 3y ago
    Yeah I hit submit before I was going to make that point.
- realusername 3y ago
  I never heard of anyone using iMessage daily here in France, the platform is basically dead, maybe facetime managed to survive but that's about it. Everybody is using either Messenger or Whatsapp. The fact that iMessage being marketed as an SMS app and SMS being dead certainly doesn't help.
ko27 3y ago
No. 3 (only Apple-approved 3rd-party App Stores) is definitely not compliant. No. 4 (legally obligated to give Apple cut) is flat out wrong. While it might be true that Apple's 30% cut is not ruled illegal, it's a far cry away from Apple having any legal mechanism to enforce a fee after a transaction has happened. Trying to ban 3rd party apps is going to get them into more trouble.
- gjsman-1000 3y ago
  Well, the Digital Markets Act has a paragraph Apple is going to drive a locomotive through in the courtroom. "In order to ensure that third-party software applications or software application stores do not endanger the integrity of the hardware or operating system provided by the gatekeeper, it should be possible for the gatekeeper concerned to implement proportionate technical or contractual measures to achieve that goal if the gatekeeper demonstrates that such measures are necessary and justified and that there are no less-restrictive means to safeguard the integrity of the hardware or operating system. The integrity of the hardware or the operating system should include any design options that need to be implemented and maintained in order for the hardware or the operating system to be protected against unauthorised access, by ensuring that security controls specified for the hardware or the operating system concerned cannot be compromised. Furthermore, in order to ensure that third-party software applications or software application stores do not undermine end users’ security, it should be possible for the gatekeeper to implement strictly necessary and proportionate measures and settings, other than default settings, enabling end users to effectively protect security in relation to third-party software applications or software application stores if the gatekeeper demonstrates that such measures and settings are strictly necessary and justified and that there are no less-restrictive means to achieve that goal. The gatekeeper should be prevented from implementing such measures as a default setting or as pre-installation." Are we really sure that Apple won't argue that permitting only 3rd-party App Stores and not individual apps, and imposing contractual obligations on those third party App stores, isn't "proportionate technical or contractual measures"?

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

SheinhardtWigCo 3y ago

Prediction: iOS will get a stricter form of "System Integrity Protection" (the macOS feature that allows you to disable most of the sandboxing and code signing policy). The process for disabling it will be even more onerous and scary than it is on macOS, which requires rebooting into Recovery mode and typing a command into a terminal. Third-party app stores and other unapproved software will be available if the user disables SIP, but financial apps and the NFC chip will be blocked. Therefore nobody will do it, and Apple will say "told you so".

wmf 3y ago
Kids would absolutely disable SIP to get Fortnite and that's a scenario Apple doesn't want. More straightforward sideloading scenarios are more likely.
- pohuing 3y ago
  Even if that means they can't pay using their phone anymore? I know I removed magisk because my banking app stops working with just the manager installed.
  - wmf 3y ago
    Kids probably don't use Apple Pay or banking apps?
    - pohuing 3y ago
      I would be shocked if the majority of kids don't have a bank account nowadays. I know I did at 14 despite living in cash-dependent Germany.
- vineyardmike 3y ago
  Kids doing it absolutely OK with Apple. They’re not going to lose money there. The problem is the kids parents. When kid borrows dad’s phone and disables banking apps, dad will be upset. When aunt Jane ends up with 12 app stores and “Panterist” apps that don’t work the same as her daughter’s “Pinterest” app, she’s going to blame Apple. Maybe even clog up support. Just look at how much A/B testing causes problems on apps - now imagine the knockoff apps and the support required for unofficial apps. Regardless of your views on this, Apple claims everything on the App Store is “theirs”. Listen to their marketing copy and court statements. Those apps are theirs to sell, and they think they have a claim to the entire iPhone UX. They obviously can’t manage the crap that will flood the market from 3p app stores. They will absolutely trash the permissions or UX of these apps to protect their image. It’s obviously about the money, but I genuinely believe that Apple leadership will be reacting emotionally viewing those app stores as a threat. My suspicion is that they’ll make the iPhone “run software” but gate more of the SDK and on-device APIs behind contracts and NDAs. Gaining access to various docs and terms will get way more expensive, and become a legal affair instead of the mostly self-service process it is today. For example, no way they allow you to use HomeKit or WeatherKit or *Kit sdk with a non-AppStore contract.

meepmorp 3y ago

Got to be honest, qua customer, I have zero interest in alternative app stores. Maybe I'd care as a developer because I'd have money on the line, but I just have zero interest. And, fwiw, I'd rather have Apple act as my payment intermediary than hand out payment information to more parties. I'm sure it's great or whatever, but I can't see it.

lloydatkinson 3y ago
It’s going to lead to a stream of low quality shitware the likes of which you see in Samsung or Amazon app stores. Those Apple guidelines prevent those being listed in the Apple store.
- pcl 3y ago
  I expect that one important difference here is that iPhones will still presumably run the Apple App Store out of the box / in parallel to whatever other answers emerge. This differs from the Samsung / Amazon model because the initial store is likely to be less of a disaster, and different distribution mechanisms will perhaps become known for their quality, among other factors. You could imagine multiple app stores, in which you have a wild-west store but also the default Apple one and a "maker store" one focused on CAD apps and 3D printing gear and whatnot, with different levels of moderation / curation in each. (An aside -- whenever I look at the Apple App Store's home page, it always seems filled with all sorts of crap I'm uninterested in. I haven't used the Amazon or Samsung stores, but I hardly think the Apple App Store curation process has resulted in a paragon of quality...)
- joemi 3y ago
  It'll be even worse, because most non-shit apps will stick with Apple's store, so the third party stores will (for the most part) _only_ have low quality apps.
pcl 3y ago
Really? It doesn't bother you that you need to manually navigate to the Amazon web app to buy a Prime movie or a Kindle book, or the equivalents for any other digital assets you might be interested in?

gehsty 3y ago

I am generally onboard with none native AppStore’s provided the platform vendors are able to have sensible defaults that will not confuse or limit what none technical people can do (basically iPhones should ship as they are but users can add none native AppStore’s by jumping through some fairly trivial hoops..) The bit where it falls down for me is where does it end, if Apple / google are forced to open up their platforms so epic etc can have their own app stores, are Epic etc forced to open up their platforms (the Fortnite store for instance) so others parties can open their own stores within the game?

SheinhardtWigCo 3y ago
No because Fortnite isn't an integral part of most people's lives and doesn't underpin a significant portion of the economy.
crazygringo 3y ago
That would be amazingly ironic if Epic, in its quest to free Apple's App Store, wound up with a court decision that destroyed any profitability of its own...
wmf 3y ago
are Epic etc forced to open up their platforms (the Fortnite store for instance) so others parties can open their own stores within the game? The law has a specific definition of "gatekeepers" and so far Epic is not on the list. https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/digital-markets-act-ensuring-fair-and-open-digital-markets_en https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-...

fidotron 3y ago

Meta (and to some extent Google) are going to have to be careful, as the obvious temptation for them is to open their own app delivery mechanism which is far more liberal with data collection and permissions. In the Google case they could probably technical deliver a Play Store for iOS complete with delivering a massive subset of Android apps in an emulated environment. The problem is just how sticky their apps prove to be once outside the trusted confines of the App Store, and so I wouldn't be surprised if more things stay within the walled garden than we expect. The other massive question is who will be allowed to run the stores. If you've uploaded an app in the last few years the big change is the number of assertions you have to make about UAC and news content (or lack of) has exploded. It will be curious if the EU end up releasing forces which create widespread new less American filtered media distribution.

willio58 3y ago
While more iOS "appstores" will exist in the coming years, does that really mean those apps will be able to circumvent privacy-related requirements that Apple has set? For example let's take the camera. You have to give an app permission to use your camera. Will another appstore's app just be able to circumvent that? I doubt it. If my assumption isn't the case I'd love to know though!
- vineyardmike 3y ago
  The question with this mostly comes down to the EU - do they consider this cohesion or punishment on apples part. Sure it’s easy to say camera security is good, but where does it end… can Apple gate every feature? What about new features? Will Apple open up the settings app to third party apps - will they even be able to be managed centrally?
- heisenzombie 3y ago
  Many of the privacy/security/data restrictions that Apple imposes on apps are not and can not be enforced by technical means (e.g. just gating APIs behind system-level permission dialogs). They require some combination of manual review, automated code analysis, and just plain old attestations made by the developer (e.g. "we will not sell any of your data or use it for advertising") where the recourse is kicking a developer off the store if they are lying.

BigBalli 3y ago

It's odd... I feel like I shouldn't feel this way but I actually wish it wasn't happening. I appreciate Apple's gatekeeping, for the sake of privacy and security. As a developer, I also do not object to their cut of sales for providing a straightforward marketing and distribution channel.

TheHappyOddish 3y ago
Agreed. It confuses me why loud people (who mostly seem to be Android users) push continually for this. I'm content with my walled garden, as most iPhone users seem to be. If I wasn't, I'd use Android. And publishers taking a cut is normal in every industry. I don't see the problem.

mrtksn 3y ago

None of this will matter unless someone figures out a mainstream use case for non-Apple app store. Maybe Fortnite can be a thing? Maybe Elon Musk can try push his everything app vision? Maybe piracy? I don't know but Apple's App Store rules, although not perfect, serve the iPhone users very well. If there was a mainstream use case, it should have happened on Android. Other than that, good for all the geeks out there. iPhones might turne even more versatile and still secure if installing apps from outside of the AppStore is hard enough to discourage a non techie but easy enough so any teenager can do it. On most cases the Apple's commission is nothing, it's a well deserved fee for Apple making selling and distributing and getting paid for an app a breeze. The only negative IMHO is that it weeds out all the nerdy folks who would like to experiment new things on their device. Overall, I expect positive outcomes for everyone.

irrational 3y ago

I haven't purchased any apps in many years (despite having an iphone since 2007). The main reason is many of the apps I would have been interested in have moved to a subscription model. I'm not even willing to subscribe to Netflix, much less an app. So all the apps I use today are either ones I purchased one time in the past, are free, or are built in. I'm not sure having more app stores is going to change anything for me.

xethos 3y ago
> I'm not sure having more app stores is going to change anything for me I'd assume this is exactly the kind of thing that would change how many apps you can get. I avoid the Google Play Store like the plague, because nearly every app is full of ads, costly, or wants a subscription. I've paid for apps previously, but have since moved to acquiring nearly all apps through F-Droid. What happens to the number of apps you, personally, are willing to install, when an equivalent FLOSS app store shows up for iOS devices?

daft_pink 3y ago

I would really just love an alternate browser

henrisjenny 3y ago

I'm Miss Magnolia Zel Matthew, from Bettendorf IOWA, United States of America. I am a single Mom of two Kids' I was deceived by a guy who I met on social media he made me believe that he could help me invest well and earn a profit within a short period that could get me a house so I entrusted all my savings into the trading stock platform, only for me to find out after 5 months the site shut down and the guy is nowhere to be found, he scammed me, I was at the point of committing suicide when I read an article about (brunoequickhack AT GMAil.com) Crypto Recovery Service and I reached out to them, with their service I got all lost back within 72 hours all thanks to Brunoe Quickhack. brunoequickhack.wixsite.com/my-site