Installing applications on an iPhone without going through the App Store, a practice called sideloadingthis is the reality that Apple will have to face in the weeks to come.
The Apple firm has until March 7, 2024 to comply with a directive included in European legislation on digital markets (DMA). But according to the Wall Street Journalthe company would like to maintain control over installed applications by bypassing its store.
In an article dated January 24, 2024, the media emphasizes that Apple would consider examining applications downloaded outside the App Store, but also charging commissions on transactions made through them.
Although the Wall Street Journal does not specify the amount of costs envisaged by Apple around the sideloadingseveral experiences linked to the opening of the App Store already provide some answers.
The Cupertino company has in fact allowed in-app purchases to be made via a payment system other than that of its application store since the beginning of 2022 in the Netherlands, and since January 16, 2024 in the United States.
Reserved for dating apps among our Dutch colleagues, and for all apps in Uncle Sam’s country, this solution always involves a commission levied by Apple on transactions. The latter is still 3% lower than payments made via the App Store, falling to 27%.
With the deadline fast approaching, Apple should soon announce its decisions regarding the sideloading. For your information, this new feature should be introduced with the next version of the iPhone operating system, iOS 17.4.
While waiting to have more details on this subject, several large companies have already planned everything to free themselves from the constraints of the App Store. Spotify intends to offer its application directly from its website; Microsoft is preparing an application store for video games; As for Meta, it is developing a system allowing applications to be downloaded directly from advertisements.