Apple
iOS will allow sideloading from outside the App Store starting in 2024
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) will force Apple to comply by their standards and allow the third-party installation of apps from outside of their own Store.
Little by little, due to current legislation, Apple is being forced to offer increasingly open systems, and this trend will continue starting from the first half of next year 2024. Without an exact date yet, the North American company will have to allow third-party applications that are not found on the iOS’s App Store to be installed on iOS devices, to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Version 17 of Apple’s operating system has already introduced some new features, but one of the biggest will arrive in just a few months with update 17.2, as can be read in 9to5mac. As the site states, this measure will have to be carried out to specifically comply with the section dedicated to sideloading, which is nothing more than the ability of downloading and installing applications from sources other than the official one, in this case, the App Store.
A historic change for Apple despite its reluctance
This law was issued by the European Union last year in 2022, to ensure that large technology companies did not prohibit sideloading to reduce competitiveness. To do this, the installation of this type of applications must be allowed, something that, as we know, is not possible at the moment on Apple devices.
Historically, Apple has not only not allowed this practice, but has had no qualms about demonizing it. Tim Cook (CEO of Apple) has reiterated on numerous occasions that installing applications outside the App Store poses a threat to the security of iPhone or iPad owners. They have even gone so far as to say that “sideloading is a cybercriminal’s best friend”, but despite this, they will be forced to comply with this legislation with an established deadline of March 2024.