Dark patterns? Apple’s new flow takes 15 steps, Tim Sweeney calls it “worst app installation experience in the history”

The world is going through a Great Reset, as a man with a cinematic German accent says, and the tech world is no exception.

Huawei set to produce 5G chips despite US sanctions and Huawei's Kirin among top 5 chipmakers in the world, short video app with 170 million users nationwide, TikTok, could be banned in the US, and Apple… Apple is making changes to how it operates in the EU.

Thanks to the European Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple is introducing a new web distribution feature this spring, allowing developers to offer their applications for direct download from their websites. This means that iOS users in the EU can download apps without resorting to the App Store.

However, downloading and installing apps on the iPhone abroad is marked with an asterisk.

Here's what Epic Games' Tim Sweeney, whose feud with Apple over App Store practices has been going on for years now, has to say:

Sweeney's Looting Inspired by X/Twitter User @xroissance which explains the steps to download and install an app outside the App Store in the EU: “It takes 15 clicks to install an app from the web using the newly offered Apple flow”

Here's what it looks like (and feels like), according to the user:

1. Visit the website for the download link. Click a single deep link.
2. Encounter a warning about the unknown provider. Click on “Learn more”.
3. Go to an Apple support page for instructions.
4. Find the “Allow installation” section in the settings.
5. Encounter another warning screen.
6. Use Face ID to continue.
7. Ask yourself where you were and return to the browser.
8. Tap “Install” again for the app.
9. See a confirmation sheet; press “Install”.
10. Face another scary screen and confirm.
11. Use Face ID again.
12. Nothing seems to happen; you are back on the site.
13. Check your home screen and swipe to the last page.
14. A new icon appears, not marked with a “New” bubble.
15. Finally, launch the application.

The user suggests this was inspired by Dark Patterns. Such practices (Dark pattern UI), when applied to processes, deliberately make the interface more difficult to understand and navigate. Objects are constructed or designed in a way to obscure or complicate the user's ability to complete a task, often with the aim of deterring certain actions. This may include making it difficult to cancel subscriptions, unsubscribe from services, or understand terms and conditions. Tim Sweeney is not happy about it at all and keep on going: “Apple forces users to dig through their device to find the buried settings needed to install the app. Compare this bizarre spectacle of executive-mandated bad design to the App Store, where amazing designers make installations as simple as possible. I would like us to see some investigative journalism here. Which Apple executive led this monstrosity? Which designers were forced to implement it? How do they – who joined Apple to make fantastic products – feel about having become co-conspirators in violating the DMA? »

However, not everyone shares his feelings. Some say they're glad the app installation process has so many steps because of “older people with iPhones.” X/Twitter @JinAxelLea the user says: