Revolution in the mobile world: by 2024, Apple will have to open iOS and iPadOS to other application stores than the App Store. The European Union thus puts an end to 14 years of monopoly by upsetting the ecosystem of Apple.
For app developers, iOS is a bit like a nightclub with a security guard at the entrance. To be able to offer an application for download, you must first show your credentials by proving that the application is safe and healthy so that customers of the box do not catch any viruses. Knowing that the Cerberus has all the power to refuse you entry without giving you the slightest explanation. Then, you have to agree to pay a commission to the sheet metal worker (30%) on the sales made in his establishment. And if by misfortune you try to do business behind the back of the boss of the box by getting paid directly by your customers without going through him, the security guard immediately ejects you. These rules may seem unfair and unfair but the firm at the apple is not the only one to practice them. Google, with its Play Store on Android, adopts the same behavior, sometimes showing itself, all the same, a little more lax, especially with regard to security. And above all, on Android, if the rules imposed by the Play Store do not suit you to offer your application there, nothing prevents you from placing it in an alternative store. There are several such as F-Droid, Aptoide, APKMirror or even the Amazon AppStore store as we describe in our practical sheet. On iOS, such possibilities do not exist today, except to go through complex processes requiring to break the locks of the iPhone (the famous Jailbreak) with Cydia and to use rather confidential shops like Tutu App.
However, this monopolistic situation should change next year… in Europe at least. According to Mark Gurman, journalist for Bloomberg and Apple specialist, the firm will indeed have to comply with the new European law on digital markets, the Digital Market Act (DMA). This law, which came into force on November 1, aims to push the large digital multinationals to open up a little more and to relax their rules. And among the constraints is the obligation to offer alternative application stores for the same platform. In other words, Apple should open the iPhone and iPad to other app stores than the App Store. A real revolution for users and publishers alike!
Alternative app stores: the end of security for iOS?
When you want to install an application on iPhone or iPad, the App Store, Apple’s online app store, remains a must today. Unable to click on a link on a website to retrieve an app and install it without going through the App Store. Apple wants to control everything and, with this system, maintains an environment tight to any drift. By opening iOS and iPadOS to other online stores, Apple opens a breach in its systems. Sideloading, meaning downloading apps outside the App Store, can lead to the installation of apps that are much less secure and less reliable than those on the official store, not to mention the collection of personal data that can be operate on the way. To avoid this phenomenon, Apple could, according to Mark Gurman, ” impose certain security requirements even if the software is distributed outside of its store. These apps may also be verified by Apple – a process that could incur fees “.
End of the App Store monopoly: towards revenue sharing
The opening of iOS and iPadOS to competing application stores will have a direct economic consequence, in particular for software publishers. Indeed, having an application on the Apple Store involves paying 30% commission to Apple on the sale of the app but also letting the Apple firm manage purchases in the application. It is impossible for an app developer or publisher to integrate a direct payment method into their app. One of the points of European law precisely allows this process to be bypassed. By appearing on an alternative store, the publisher can offer in-app purchases (directly in the app) without going through Apple. A provision that will certainly delight the boss of Epic Games (publisher of the game Fortnite) who had been ejected from the App Store or even Elon Musk, new boss of Twitter, who seems to discover today the operation of the App Store and its commission principle in place for years. Also, the new European law should deprive Apple of a large share of revenue usually generated by the App Store. Nevertheless, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, ” Apple should be able to absorb the financial impact. The App Store accounts for 6% of total revenue, and Europe’s contribution to that figure is likely less than 2% “.
Moreover, the opening of iOS and iPadOS to alternative stores does not mean the abandonment of the official App Store for ordinary Apple users either. If alternative stores have existed for years on Android, the Google Play Store remains the preferred gateway for downloading applications. Stores or websites to retrieve APKs, application installation files, remain the prerogative of connoisseurs and geeks. However, this opening will allow access to apps previously prohibited from appearing on the official store, such as many games or tools for downloading audio or video content.
Opening IOS and iPadOS: authorized access to hardware components
Deep changes should also concern the access of third-party apps (non-Apple) to certain components such as the camera or the NFC module. The latter, for example, is today only operated by Apple for its Wallet digital wallet and contactless payments by Apple Pay. According to Bloomberg, “Apple has been pressured to let third-party finance apps have the same capability “. A good way to bypass Apple Pay to be able to pay without contact, provided that all the security options are also there. All these changes should take place with the release of iOS 17, planned, in all likelihood, for the second half of 2023. In any case, they must be operated before 2024, the deadline for compliance with new European laws.