Code in iOS 17.2 beta reveals that Apple will allow iPhone to sideload apps

Apple has always been against allowing iPhone users to download apps on the iPhone. Sideloading occurs when apps from a third-party app store are downloaded to a phone. Google allows Android users to do this, but Apple doesn’t earn it the nickname “walled garden.” Apple claims that apps installed on the iPhone from a third-party app store could contain malware or other security issues and, because Apple cannot control apps not downloaded from the App Store, he thinks it is better not to allow it.

Another reason Apple doesn’t want to allow sideloading on the iPhone is to prevent developers from listing their iOS apps on a third-party app store in order to get around paying Apple up to 30%. their revenues integrated into the applications. Since the App Store is the only official storefront for iOS apps, there is no way to escape the “Apple tax” unless a developer stops accepting in-app purchases.

The European Digital Markets Act (DMA) states that users of mobile devices should be able to install applications from third-party stores. Earlier this year, Bloomberg’s Apple beat man Mark Gurman said Apple would allow sideloading, but only in the 27 EU member countries, which would limit the damage caused by malicious apps. This would also provide Apple with real-world data to see if it should allow sideloading in other markets.

9to5Mac discovered that the iOS 17.2 beta contains internal code that would give third-party apps permission to install other apps. With this feature, developers could create their own storefront of third-party iOS apps. The code also has a region lock that would allow Apple to restrict sideloading to specific countries. This makes sense if Apple is forced to allow sideloading through DMA.