Today, Apple released iOS 17.5 beta 2 to developers. We don’t usually report on such releases, but this one is important because it marks another feature that Apple was forced to add due to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). Debut).
Starting with iOS 17.5, EU iPhone users will be able to download apps from websites – also known as sideloading. No need to go through Apple’s App Store or any other app store – thanks to DMA in iOS 17.4, Apple is also starting to support alternative app stores.
This now further improves the flexibility of finding applications. However, we’re still talking about Apple, so it’s not a free-for-all. Developers who want to offer downloadable apps on their websites need to go through Apple’s notarization process, they need to be members of the Apple Developer Program for two consecutive years or more, and the developers need to be located in the EU or have subsidiaries.
But wait, there’s more. Only apps with 1 million or more annual first-time installs on iOS in the EU in the previous year are eligible for distribution in this way. So while it is true that the walls of the “Walled Garden” are now shorter, the walls still remain. The good news is that apps downloaded from the website can be backed up, restored and updated like all other apps.
When you want to install such an app, you will see a system table showing the app name, developer name, app description, and screenshot, and you need to give explicit permission to the developer to install the app . You can only use this feature within the European Union, and only on iPhone.
The benefit of all this for developers is that they don’t have to pay Apple a commission on app sales for apps distributed on the site. But that doesn’t mean they won’t pay anything – Apple requires a “core technology fee” of €0.50 for users who have installed more than 1 million times a year in the past year. Thankfully, nonprofits, educational institutions, and government entities are at least exempt from this fee.
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