https://9to5mac.com/2023/09/13/new-ios-17-features-coming-later-this-year/?
iOS 17 is coming on September 18 after three months of beta testing. We already knew that there were some...
What about side-loading apps? This is gonna be the single most important thing coming out this year, but they won’t mention it.
Well I’m in the EU 😉
The thing being that if they do it too late and regulators don’t like it, they will get a fine, so they need time to work out possible issues.
I think realistically we are looking at Dec/Jan.
I also think that there will be a way to bypass this restriction if you are somewhere else, unless they block it by SN, which is in itself also a possible door for fines.
Once the can of worms is open, it’s showtime for everybody. I’m so looking forward to it.
Strictly speaking, iOS has always supported side-loading - app developers do it every day all day long and not just on their own devices - you can deploy to ten thousand devices owned by regular users outside the company. And they don't stop developers from extending that by having multiple accounts.
You can also sideload to any device used in an "enterprise" environment and there's no limit on the number of devices. There's also no technical barrier preventing non-enterprise deployment. No check if the user is at all related to an enterprise and no requirement for the developer to be part of the enterprise either (you might be a solo freelance developer writing an app used by enterprise customers).
It's just Apple might (not will, might) sue any business that sideloads for for any other purpose than those two.
So - since it's already technically Supported, Apple is likely to wait until the last day and then update their terms of service.
Yes you can also jailbreak and do whatever, but the point is that is not easy nor official.
I am looking forward to an alternative store where I can install apps that Apple cannot control. Many big and small developers will be running to publish their apps there just to stop paying Apple the big 30% cut or even the $100/year to publish free apps.
We can get things like a BitTorrent client, a decent YouTube client without ads and background playback, better pricing for other stuff, who knows what else.
Collaborate on Apple Music playlists: Invite friends to join your playlist, and everyone can add, reorder, and remove songs. In Now Playing, you can use emoji to react to the song choices. Favorite Songs playlist.
Yes! Finally!
Our family playlist is about to explode!