The first third-party app marketplace, AltStore PAL, launched in the European Union on Wednesday. The App Store alternative comes from Riley Testut, the developer who got his Delta retro-game emulator into the iPhone App Store on the same day.
EU is skeptical that Apple’s App Store rules comply with DMA
The European Commission opened a noncompliance investigation Monday into whether Apple is fully following the rules that went into effect with the EU’s Digital Markets Act. If not, Apple faces potentially heavy fines.
The Mac-maker isn’t being singled out. The EC also opened similar investigations into Alphabet/Google and Meta/Facebook.
Apple will make it easier to switch from iPhone to Android
Apple is building a way out of the iOS “walled garden.” It promised on Thursday to make it easier to switch the data from an iPhone to an Android or other handset.
That said, the migration tool is part of Apple complying with the European Union’s Digital Market Act so the solution might not be available outside of the EU.
Apple calls Epic Games ‘untrustworthy,’ blocks Fortnite rerelease in EU
Epic Games will not be able to bring Fortnite back to the European Union. Apple canceled the company’s developer account (again) and called Epic “verifiably untrustworthy.”
Shutting down the developer account also means that the game-maker won’t be able to open its promised rival to the App Store.
Why you shouldn’t care that Apple began phasing out web apps
Are you familiar with iPhone web apps? No? Turns out you aren’t alone. Apple admitted that the method for turning websites into applications never caught on.
It must have been a tough admission, given that Steve Jobs’ original plan for iPhone was that it would only support web apps, with no native third-party applications allowed.
EU won’t force iMessage to work with WhatsApp, rival messaging apps
The European Commission decided not to require Apple to further break down its barriers between iMessage and rival messaging services.
It would seem Apple’s decision to add RCS support helped persuade the European regulator that no additional changes are necessary.
Devs call Apple’s new iPhone sideloading rules ‘malicious compliance’ and ‘ludicrously punitive’
A noted Apple critic used the terms “malicious compliance” and “hot garbage” to describe the elaborate rules the company laid down Thursday for allowing European iPhone users to sideload applications.
Those blasts came from Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, a company that’s locked in a legal battle with Apple over App Store rules. But other devs also cast aspersions on Apple’s framework for setting up App Store rivals. They pointed out that the new system comes with a huge financial obligation, and that it will make free apps almost impossible.
To be clear, though, not all developers are unhappy. Apple’s new rules also drew some compliments.
Apple is bringing sideloading and alternate app stores to iPhone
Apple is bringing sideloading and alternate app stores to the iPhone — but with significant restrictions.
Apple gave EU developers guidelines and access to the tools needed for sideloading — installing applications that don’t go through the App Store. But the new rules require these apps to be approved by Apple before they can be installed by iPhone users. And they need to be in alternative marketplaces, not directly available for download.
In other words, sideloading won’t be the free-for-all some people had hoped.
This is part of sweeping changes to iOS, Safari and the App Store required by the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. And Apple’s announcement of these changes in Thursday is loaded with warning about how sideloading brings risks for users.
Apple fights EU law that forces sideloading apps onto iPhone
Apple filed a challenge to an European Union law that requires iPhones to allow third-party software to be installed from outside the App Store.
Unless the appeal goes through, the legislation will go into effect in March 2024.
EU industry chief calls on Apple to open ecosystem to competitors
After meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook in Brussels Tuesday, European Union head of industry Thierry Breton called on the tech company to open its ecosystem of hardware and software to competitors.
EU Digital Markets Act will open iPhone to sideloading of apps
Now that iOS and the App Store have been labeled “gatekeepers” by the European Commission, the EU’s Digital Markets Act requires Apple to allow users to install applications directly onto iPhones. And sideloading is just one of the sweeping changes resulting from the DMA. Users apparently will be able to replace Siri with one of its rivals, for example. Other services, like iMessage, might require modification later.
One thing’s clear: The iPhone won’t be the same after the Digital Markets Act goes into effect in spring 2024.
Apple gears up for alternative app stores on iPhone and iPad
Apple has launched a major project to allow alternative app stores on iPhones and iPads by 2024. The effort is meant to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, which comes fully into force then, and other possible national or regional laws that will make Apple allow sideloading of apps, according to new report Tuesday.
The end result should see Apple allowing people to download third-party software to iPhones and iPads from somewhere other than the App Store for the first time.
Apple car gets a Lambo injection [The CultCast]
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Apple’s electric self-driving car project apparently just landed a bigwig from Lamborghini. Does this mean the hiding-in-plain-sight Apple car is back on track?
Also on The CultCast:
- Why we didn’t see an M1 Mac Pro — and why we never will.
- Saudi Arabia’s crazy glass building sounds unbelievable.
- Anker makes GaN charging even faster and more efficient.
- The EU’s new Digital Markets Act could bring big changes for Apple and the App Store.
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video livestream, embedded below.
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EU’s Digital Markets Act takes step toward forcing huge changes to iPhone
The European Parliament passed the landmark Digital Markets Act on Tuesday. The legislation aims to outlaw many common practices of Big Tech companies, especially Apple, Google and Amazon.
For iPhone users, the DMA would force Apple to allow rival app stores and sideloaded applications. And these are only two of many significant changes in the act.
There are still further steps the the EU government must go through before the DMA goes into effect, but that’s expected to happen before the end of 2022.
Leaked ‘final’ EU antitrust bill looks bad for Apple
The European Union may force Apple to make big changes to its App Store as well as services like FaceTime and Messages, if a leaked version of an EU antitrust proposal becomes law.
The draft is said to be the “final version” of the Digital Markets Act, provisionally approved by EU regulators in March. It seeks to restrict how tech giants operate in order to foster greater competition.
EU plans to force iMessage to work with WhatsApp, other messaging apps
The European Union plans to break down the barriers between mobile messaging services. With its Digital Markets Act, it plans to force services like iMessage, WhatsApp, and smaller messaging platforms to play nicely together.
The move would be a major blow to Apple, which has long used iMessage — which it refuses to bring to Android — as a big selling point of iPhone.