In the past, Apple made every effort to ensure that you could only get new apps through the App Store. The company claims that’s for security, but the strategy has been widely criticized. In this way, Apple can suppress competition and also demand a lot of money from developers when an app is offered via the App Store (something that Fortnite maker Epic Games was not happy with, for example).
But it looks like Apple is finally opening up the iPhone with iOS 17, Mark Gurman reports in the MacRumors podcast. With this version of iOS, which will be presented this summer, you can expect other app stores, such as the Google Play Store. It also becomes possible to sideload an app, that is, install it from another device.
Apple is not taking this step because the company itself has changed its mind. With this new approach, the iPhone maker wants to ensure that it adheres to new EU legislation. Gurman even expects the situation outside the EU to remain unchanged.
iPhone isn’t just getting sideloaded in iOS 17
Of course, the addition of sideloading and alternative app stores isn’t the only change in iOS 17. On the other hand, according to Gurman, we shouldn’t expect huge changes either. For example, there will be no major changes for widgets, but the Wallet app and the Find My function will be further expanded.
