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_Spinn_

macrumors 601
Nov 6, 2020
4,857
10,041
Wisconsin
Which apps do you think would pull from the App Store and disappear from billions of iOS devices?
I could see Facebook or Google pulling their apps into their own App Stores so they can ship them with additional tracking and monetization that Apple currently won't allow. They are big enough and popular enough that I suspect the average consumer would follow. It would really depend on how difficult Apple makes it to sideload.
 

Wildkraut

Suspended
Nov 8, 2015
3,583
7,673
Germany
I could see Facebook or Google pulling their apps into their own App Stores so they can ship them with additional tracking and monetization that Apple currently won't allow. They are big enough and popular enough that I suspect the average consumer would follow. It would really depend on how difficult Apple makes it to sideload.
Thats why there will be a DigitalServicesAct along with the DigitalMarketsAct.
 

_Spinn_

macrumors 601
Nov 6, 2020
4,857
10,041
Wisconsin
There would only be one reason for a mass exodus from Apple's app store - Apple's value proposition is terrible compared to alternatives. Considering how many people are absolutely sure that there would be such a mass exodus from Apple's store that avoiding third-party sites for downloading apps is pretty much unavoidable, then I guess we already know how little value Apple themselves actually provide to the ecosystem.
It doesn't even have to be a lot of apps. Facebook and Google are big enough and used by enough people that they could probably get away with creating their own App Stores so they can ship more tracking in their apps. If sideloading is easy enough the average consumer would probably follow them.
 

deevey

macrumors 65816
Dec 4, 2004
1,348
1,417
Maybe time for a "Pro" version of iOS, with side-loading allowed and an increased device cost to offset loss of app store sales.

If you want an App free iPhone which allows side-loading, that'll be an extra $100 thanks.
 
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dk001

macrumors demi-god
Oct 3, 2014
10,684
15,033
Sage, Lightning, and Mountains
So why all the fuss about making Apple more open? I mean, if at the end of the day the direct competition doesn't have any more users/dev's leaving the Google Play Store. Why force this on Apple? How does it make anything better if literally not many others are using this method on the other platform that is also larger than Apple's? Seems like a massive waste of time no?

...

A personal experience answer as I have a number of sideloaded apps on Android.
There are a number of apps no longer carried on the Play Store or not allowed on the Play Store that I side load. Nothing nefarious about them, in a decent alternate store from good developers. I also have links within apps (like Kindle) from which I can procure items. As Apple is more or overly critical on what is / is not allowed I can see this being a benefit.

btw - Android does not make sideloading painless or even allowed depending on the OEM platform.
 
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amartinez1660

macrumors 68000
Sep 22, 2014
1,587
1,622
How do you imagine this working:

I bought AppX from the Apple store, I own it. AppX is then removed from the Apple App Store and moves to Steam, how do I get updates?

I imagine I will need to join the Steam store, give Steam all my info including a CC, just to receive updates for an app I already own. It then gets better, 1 year later Epic decides to give that dev a better deal for exclusive distribution rights, now I need to sign up on Epic's store, give them all my info, etc.

My other choice is to abandon the app.

I don't view either of these choices as an improved experience over what I enjoy today.

I have said this multiple times, if as part of the Apple Dev program apps must have a presence in the Apple App store and use Apple for payments as well as be available in other places with other payment processors I no longer have an issue and I think this makes everyone happy. Buy from the Apple store if you want, buy from the devs store if you want but all apps need to be in "both" places.
Very good points, I can also get behind that. Also, the version for the apple’s AppStore still has to guarantee or inform about all the data collection, iCloud integration integrity, payment support, etc rule set.
On the third party they could use and do whatever they feel like I guess…
 

dk001

macrumors demi-god
Oct 3, 2014
10,684
15,033
Sage, Lightning, and Mountains
Very good points, I can also get behind that. Also, the version for the apple’s AppStore still has to guarantee or inform about all the data collection, iCloud integration integrity, payment support, etc rule set.
On the third party they could use and do whatever they feel like I guess…

They don't. The devs just has to have something in there.
Apple does routine audits and works with devs to correct the labeling if in error.

With the number of apps, I wonder what is routine?
 

theotherphil

macrumors 6502a
Sep 21, 2012
898
1,222
Here's the thing - none of those things will go away. Apple will still have a store, and you can still rest cozy in your little well-protected walled garden with your iNanny watching over you, if you want. All you need to do is not buy apps from other stores. While that might be a tad inconvenient because you really really want that killer app - that still becomes your choice, instead of Apple's.
How is that any different to it being your choice to buy into an ecosystem where all of this is already available? This is not something new, it's been a feature of iOS since the beginning.
 

Admiralbison

macrumors regular
May 23, 2021
130
131
Monopolies AND oligopolies (which are also typically cartels)

are NEVER good and have historically lead to

- anti-competition
- anti-consumerism
- exploitation
- abuse
- wealth inequality and wealth opportunity inequality
- corruption
- stifles innovation (acquire, own and kill)


Also on a very related note.


Apple workers - join with Amazon, Activision-Blizzard, Tesla, Google, Starbucks workers etc fighting to unionize.

Prepare yourselves to go to war with the Apple corporation.


*As both an Apple consumer and a worker myself - I side with the workers and consumers, NOT corporations and their 1% shareholders.
 
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I7guy

macrumors Nehalem
Nov 30, 2013
34,311
24,047
Gotta be in it to win it
Monopolies AND oligopolies (which are also typically cartels)

are NEVER good and have historically lead to

- anti-competition
- anti-consumerism
- exploitation
- abuse
- wealth inequality and wealth opportunity inequality
- corruption
- stifles innovation (acquire, own and kill)


Also on a very related note.


Apple workers - join with Amazon, Activision-Blizzard, Tesla, Google, Starbucks workers etc fighting to unionize.

Prepare yourselves to go to war with the Apple corporation.


*As both an Apple consumer and a worker myself - I side with the workers and consumers, NOT corporations and their 1% shareholders.
As a shareholder I side with apple to run their business the way they want. They’ve done a phenomenal job and I’m happy on that front.

As a consumer I side with apple to run their business the way they want. Don’t like their products, services, restrictive ecosystem? Vote with your dollars.

As an ex-dev I side with apple to run their business the way they want. Dont like apples tos, there are other ways to peddle ones wares.

As a hypothetical apple employee in a professional capacity, I would want some type of flexibility. (Currently I have more than expected but less than I wanted)

Let apple workers unionize and good luck to them. Zie gazunt.
 

ponzicoinbro

Suspended
Aug 5, 2021
1,081
2,085
Had Apple not locked down iOS in the beginning, and ran it much more like macOS from the start...

Cool story bro but if phones weren’t much more secure than desktops then we would have kids download pirate apps full of ransomware stealing their private photos and holding millions maybe a billion people hostage.

People have to be brainless to even accept such terrible security.

Billions of dollars were stolen from companies and individuals whose desktop computers were infected or hacked with malware. All that money went to Putin‘s cronies and Kim Jong Un’s regime.

So make phones like desktops??? That’s a very bad idea. It would result in the world’s darkest criminals becoming wealthier than you can imagine and then they will use that wealth for power against you and the next generation.

We need a lot more security in this new era not less. We can’t use computers like it’s 1992 anymore.
 

dk001

macrumors demi-god
Oct 3, 2014
10,684
15,033
Sage, Lightning, and Mountains
Cool story bro but if phones weren’t much more secure than desktops then we would have kids download pirate apps full of ransomware stealing their private photos and holding millions maybe a billion people hostage.

People have to be brainless to even accept such terrible security.

Billions of dollars were stolen from companies and individuals whose desktop computers were infected or hacked with malware. All that money went to Putin‘s cronies and Kim Jong Un’s regime.

So make phones like desktops??? That’s a very bad idea. It would result in the world’s darkest criminals becoming wealthier than you can imagine and then they will use that wealth for power against you and the next generation.

We need a lot more security in this new era not less. We can’t use computers like it’s 1992 anymore.

Yet we have so so many people just loving up the FaceBook and TikTok world.

The biggest thing to remember is that is no longer the ‘90s and the wild west of the PC pirating era.
 

KevinN206

macrumors 6502
Jan 18, 2009
476
388
As a shareholder I side with apple to run their business the way they want. They’ve done a phenomenal job and I’m happy on that front.

As a consumer I side with apple to run their business the way they want. Don’t like their products, services, restrictive ecosystem? Vote with your dollars.

As an ex-dev I side with apple to run their business the way they want. Dont like apples tos, there are other ways to peddle ones wares.

As a hypothetical apple employee in a professional capacity, I would want some type of flexibility. (Currently I have more than expected but less than I wanted)

Let apple workers unionize and good luck to them. Zie gazunt.
I agree with you. Apple should go farther and ban all apps and services that compete against Apple's services such as Spotify and Netflix. If people don't like it, then they can buy an Android or just use the web.
 

I7guy

macrumors Nehalem
Nov 30, 2013
34,311
24,047
Gotta be in it to win it
I agree with you. Apple should go farther and ban all apps and services that compete against Apple's services such as Spotify and Netflix. If people don't like it, then they can buy an Android or just use the web.
A better solution would be to take the App Store private. This way apple wouldn’t run afoul of anticompetitive laws.
 

ponzicoinbro

Suspended
Aug 5, 2021
1,081
2,085
Yet we have so so many people just loving up the FaceBook and TikTok world.

The biggest thing to remember is that is no longer the ‘90s and the wild west of the PC pirating era.

It’s horrific what the pirates and hackers are doing these days. Every day targeting young people and some cryptotards to steal all their money, passwords and data.

Every day things like this

 

dk001

macrumors demi-god
Oct 3, 2014
10,684
15,033
Sage, Lightning, and Mountains
It’s horrific what the pirates and hackers are doing these days. Every day targeting young people and some cryptotards to steal all their money, passwords and data.

Every day things like this


True however this is not something that adding sideloading to iOS is going to affect. If it was we would see the non-iOS world buried under this.

We don’t.
 
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ponzicoinbro

Suspended
Aug 5, 2021
1,081
2,085
True however this is not something that adding sideloading to iOS is going to affect. If it was we would see the non-iOS world buried under this.

We don’t.

Yeah we will see terrible stuff with side loading. We on forums are mostly enthusiasts who are careful (I hope) but we must not forget most people are gullible and not tech literate and that will never change. They will be tricked to click on this and download that.

And others will sideload and jail break at the same time, breaking Apple’s security and their own user security, just because they are tempted to install a pirate app of a triple A game. That game will be infected with some junk and steal their data, collect their contacts, maybe also send a link to a virus to all your contacts, harvest your photos and anything else the hackers wants.

We must not misunderestimate that hackers are working for intelligence agencies of countries who do not want you to have a democracy anymore. If they harvest data of politician’s children or politicians then that’s really messed up and it mostly likely happened to some already in the last years.

If we want to secure our democracy and our freedoms then our data, our devices and our networks must be soooooo tightly secure. We aren’t close to that level of security.
 
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dk001

macrumors demi-god
Oct 3, 2014
10,684
15,033
Sage, Lightning, and Mountains
Yeah we will see terrible stuff with side loading. We on forums are mostly enthusiasts who are careful (I hope) but we must not forget most people are gullible and not tech literate and that will never change. They will be tricked to click on this and download that.

And others will sideload and jail break at the same time, breaking Apple’s security and their own user security, just because they are tempted to install a pirate app of a triple A game. That game will be infected with some junk and steal their data, collect their contacts, maybe also send a link to a virus to all your contacts, harvest your photos and anything else the hackers wants.

We must not misunderestimate that hackers are working for intelligence agencies of countries who do not want you to have a democracy anymore. If they harvest data of politician’s children or politicians then that’s really messed up and it mostly likely happened to some already in the last years.

If we want to secure our democracy and our freedoms then our data, our devices and our networks must be soooooo tightly secure. We aren’t close to that level of security.

Either you forgot the /s or you forgot to look at the non-iOS world.
If sideloading for iOS was the “Doom & Gloom” you claim, the non-0iOS world would be buried under this.
It isn’t.
 

Mousse

macrumors 68040
Apr 7, 2008
3,509
6,742
Flea Bottom, King's Landing
If we want to secure our democracy and our freedoms then our data, our devices and our networks must be soooooo tightly secure. We aren’t close to that level of security.
And we will never be close to that level of security until we can control what enters and exits our phones. If Apple and Google were serious about security they would build a firewall into the OS. Even a basic firewall would allow us to block unwanted data into and out of our phones.
Until they give us a firewall, all this security talk is just lip service to me.
 
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dk001

macrumors demi-god
Oct 3, 2014
10,684
15,033
Sage, Lightning, and Mountains
And we will never be close to that level of security until we can control what enters and exits our phones. If Apple and Google were serious about security they would build a firewall into the OS. Even a basic firewall would allow us to block unwanted data into and out of our phones.
Until they give us a firewall, all this security talk is just lip service to me.

I have not personally tried it however you supposedly can do a FW on Android. This ability has been around for a few years.
 

Mousse

macrumors 68040
Apr 7, 2008
3,509
6,742
Flea Bottom, King's Landing
I have not personally tried it however you supposedly can do a FW on Android.
You can. You have to root if you want the FW that blocks data on the phone. The non-Root FW filters it through a server. Pretty pointless that since your data plan will get hosed FW or no.

I've got root FW on my phone. Not 100% perfect since I can only block at the App level, not specify port for an App. The plus side is I've virtually eliminated ads, the exceptions being games and apps that require online access to function.
 
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