Apple will be forced to finally allow app sideloading on iPhone and iPad

One of the fundamental differences between the Android and iOS ecosystems is the ability the former offers users to install apps from different app stores other than Google Play, i.e. the famous sideloading. Not only has Apple never allowed such a thing, it dubs this feature as the biggest Achilles heel of the Android OS in terms of user security.

All this is expected to change in the coming months, as the passing and implementation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by the European Union (s.b. entered into force on November 1, 2022) will essentially force Apple into a series of actions that will fundamentally change its policy in iOS and beyond. Typical is the example of supporting alternative payment systems, so that application developers are not captive to the 70/30 (or 85/15) share of the App Store.

Now, the latest information says that another stronghold of the company, that of sideloading, will fall. According to a Bloomberg report, Apple engineers are looking at ways to develop a system that would allow iPhone and iPad users to install apps from sources other than the App Store, while also having security safeguards to protect them from malicious software. practices (eg malware).

The DMA bill provides that tech companies will have until March 6, 2024 to comply with its rules, however, Apple is said to allow sideloading with the arrival of iOS 17 due in September 2023.