Apple is opening web distribution of iOS apps targeting users in the European Union starting Tuesday. Developers who join – and meet Apple’s criteria, including app notarization requirements – will be able to offer iPhone apps for direct download to EU users from their own websites.
This is a major change for a mobile ecosystem that otherwise prohibits so-called “side-loading.” Apple’s walled garden position has allowed it in the past to channel almost all of iOS developer revenue through its own App Store. But in the EU, that divide is being dismantled following new regulations for the App Store that the iPhone maker has been expected to comply with since early last month.
In March, Apple announced that a web distribution entitlement would soon be available on its mobile platform as part of changes aimed at complying with the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The pan-European regulation imposes a set of obligations on affected tech giants that lawmakers hope will level the playing field for business users of the platforms, as well as protect consumers against big tech that weighs everything their weight.
Briefing reporters on the latest developments in its app ecosystem in the EU on Tuesday, ahead of the official announcement, an Apple representative said that developers wishing to directly distribute iOS apps will be able to access this right through Beta 2 of iOS 17.5.
To do this, developers will need to adhere to Apple’s new EU trading terms, which include a new “base technology fee” charged at €0.50 for every first annual install over 1 million over the next 12 years. recent months, regardless of where the applications are distributed. App creators wanting to avoid these fees currently have no choice but to keep Apple’s old business terms, which means they can’t access any of the DMA rights.
In previous changes to the DMA, App opened up to allow marketplace apps in the EU where developers can run their own app stores on iOS, including marketplaces consisting solely of their own apps.
Other reforms brought about by the DMA include greater flexibility from Apple when it comes to in-app payments, as well as a ban on its usual anti-steering measures. This means that iOS developers who adhere to the new terms and conditions can inform their users of cheaper deals available outside of Apple’s App Store.
Returning to the new web distribution option for iOS apps, Apple’s criteria for developers wishing to directly distribute their software include that they be in good standing with its developer program; attest to handling items such as intellectual property disputes and government takedown requests; and is committed to providing customer service to iOS users, as Apple will not offer this type of support for iOS apps downloaded outside of its App Store.
It also emphasizes that all applications distributed over the web must meet its notarization requirements, which it says are intended to protect the integrity of the platform.
An Apple representative described this as a basic safety and security standard, which they said expects iOS users to help ensure their device is protected from external risks.
The company continues to argue that sideloading apps carries inherent security risks for mobile users, suggesting that it is trying to find a way to comply with the DMA while taking steps to limit the risks that the changes create for its users.
The first time an iOS user tries to download an app from a developer’s website, they will be asked to allow the developer to install apps directly on their device. Apple’s current design of the permission flow involves multiple steps and requires users to verify that they want to grant permission to the developer through the iOS settings menu and clicking “allow” in permission pop-ups (the other option, i.e. deny permission, reads “ignore”).
Once they’ve gone through this multi-step process and approved a developer, any future direct downloads involve fewer steps, according to Apple.
The design of the tracking flow presented by Apple during the briefing includes a screen informing users that “updates and purchases in this app will be managed by the developer”, combined with a suggestion to “check the information below before installation,” which displays above a card showing basic app information and screenshots, as well as a link to see “more” information.
Apple claims that these steps and the information iOS provides to users during the authorization process for direct web downloads constitute reasonable security measures; DMA allows gatekeepers to apply these steps to protect the integrity of the platform.
However, critics of Apple’s DMA approach have called these types of pop-ups “scare screens,” arguing that the flow it designs is intended to inject friction and deter iOS users from exiting the app. Apple’s garden, for example by implying that direct downloads are riskier than downloads. via the Apple App Store.
Apple’s approach to a number of other elements of DMA compliance is the subject of an investigation by the European Commission, so at least some of these criticisms have prompted European authorities to take a closer look close to his view on what the law requires.
Last month, the Commission announced that it was examining Apple’s rules for steering in the App Store and the design of choice screens for alternatives to its Safari web browser, which is another platform service. -basic form regulated by the DMA. The EU also announced some “investigative measures” regarding Apple’s new iOS fee structure, but, for now, the new core technology fees are in place.
Given that Apple has only just begun implementing web delivery for iOS apps, it remains to be seen whether the EU will also step in to take a closer look at this aspect of its DMA compliance.
It’s also unclear what demand will be from iOS developers for direct web distribution. When asked about this, Apple said that some app creators wanted to have this option, but it also stressed that this is a new feature, which is just starting to be available, saying that it does not I’m not sure how many developers will actually want to take advantage of it. the option. The option sits alongside the existing (established) and still available option of distribution on the App Store.
In the EU, developers now have a third way to reach users: they can submit a marketplace app to Apple, asking them to distribute their software through their own alternative store hosted on its platform.
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