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iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

techcrunch.com

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Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#171

Post by yamtaddle »

smoldesu wrote: post #40
bena wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're missing something. Meta makes the Facebook app. Currently, the only way to get the Facebook app on iOS is through Apple's App Store. Which means Meta has to follow all of Apple's guidelines. Once sideloading is allowed, Meta can make a version of their app that does not follow Apple's guidelines. Now, they can maintain two apps, but last time I checked, the cost of maintaining one app was lower than th…

Meta already does all sorts of stuff that violates Apple's TOS, they just do it server-side. > I don't have the freedom to choose the version of the app I want. Sure you do. You can either use it or you don't. Regulating data privacy isn't Apple's job, if you want that fixed then you should take it up with the government or someone who can actually hold them accountable.

> Regulating data privacy isn't Apple's job

It's part of why I pay them, so I say it is.

> if you want that fixed then you should take it up with the government

Yeah, I'd strongly prefer the government do what it obviously should and reign in abusive, dangerous stalking-at-scale across the entire economy, but absent that, it sure is nice to have a choice to still get some of that regulation in one area of my life, by going with Apple.

Take away that option and I'm sure as shit not going to feel more free.

> Sure you do. You can either use it or you don't.

That's two choices, where now we have three. Buy Android and every app you download is malware; don't use apps; buy Apple and every app's trying to be malware, but at least they can't be nearly as good at it as on Android. Losing choice three doesn't increase my liberty.

Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#172

Post by toxik »

legutierr wrote: post #53
Vespasian wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand your concern and share some of them. However the solution to overreaching unaccountable private cooperations cannot be to hand all the power to another private unaccountable company. Apple is venturing into advertising and that'll tempt them to weaken privacy protections sooner or later. Additionally their app store rules went far beyond enforcing security and privacy. They gave themselves an advantage a…

> Apple is venturing into advertising and that'll tempt them to weaken privacy protections sooner or later. I hope they never become this short-sighted. I buy Apple primarily because I believe that they protect my privacy—or at least that they do a better job of it than everyone else.

The problem is that once the apple turns sour, and it will, you’ll turn around to see that all the fruit is spoiled. Some moldy, some maggot-ridden, but none made for you.

Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#174

Post by coldpie »

Hamuko wrote: post #150
mort96 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What happens when the apps which used to be available on the app store get taken down and made sideload-only, like what Epic did with Fortnite on Android?

> like what Epic did with Fortnite on Android? Epic pulled Fortnite from Google Play Store in 2018 because they wanted to keep more of Google's 30% share and they were back in 18 months because most people aren't that determined to get an app outside of the official app store. Any company pulling their apps from the App Store must have a pretty good reason to do so, because they're gonna be decimating their download…

> Epic pulled Fortnite from Google Play Store ... and they were back in 18 months because most people aren't that determined to get an app outside of the official app store.

Can you please link me to the Fortnite page on the Play store?

Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#175

Post by vinyl7 »

wmf wrote: post #102
jmull wrote: post #93

Having "side loading" -- also known as regular app installation on non-phone platforms -- hasn't caused chaos on desktop platforms or android. No reason to think it will on iOS either.

A company can get taken down by a .pdf.scr file on Windows.

Does apple throw a .pdf.scr at every app during validation?

Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#176

Post by askafriend »

jmull wrote: post #93

Having "side loading" -- also known as regular app installation on non-phone platforms -- hasn't caused chaos on desktop platforms or android. No reason to think it will on iOS either.

You’re giving away your age with this comment.

Of course it has caused chaos on desktop platforms, especially Windows in the early 2000s, late 90s.

Since that era, it’s slowly dug itself out of that hole.

Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#177

Post by 29083011397778 »

mft_ wrote: post #27
29083011397778 wrote: post #11

> Historically, Apple execs including Tim Cook and Craig Federighi have staunchly opposed sideloading citing privacy and security reasons. Which is funny to me, because after flipping through the App Store for an email client, I found, on this heavily curated storefront, a single digit number of apps I would trust with my email credentials. Android, with it's option to "sideload" F-Droid, gives me dramatically more o…

Genuine question: what are you basing these 'trust' judgements on, especialy in the case of the Android apps? Open source, or something else?

Developers don't get paid for information, ads, user data, or per-install / purchase on F-Droid. As a very general rule, apps are uploaded to F-Droid because people made something fun or helpful, and they want to share. Their incentives ("I made something fun!") align with my incentives ("I want something made by a dev that can at least pretend to give a shit about the user"). Apps are not inherently user-hostile, or made for an ulterior motive.

Proprietary app stores are... nearly as much of an exact opposite I can think of, regardless of who sponsors them; Microsoft, Amazon, Google, or Apple, devs are putting apps there to get paid. Sometimes it's user data, sometimes it's "Free" with in-app purchases pushed by dark patterns, sometimes it's to push for consumer lock-in, and sometimes it's straight up malware, like most flashlight and cleaner apps on Google Play. Regardless, the incentives don't align, and that is what I'm on about when I use the word trust here.

People don't like it when a UX change is made by and for the company that just so happens to screw lots of users, or break or slow their usage. That's exceedingly rare on apps made by devs in the first category, and depressingly common for the latter group.

Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#178

Post by thiht »

ChicagoBoy11 wrote: post #155
jmull wrote: post #93

Having "side loading" -- also known as regular app installation on non-phone platforms -- hasn't caused chaos on desktop platforms or android. No reason to think it will on iOS either.

Wait... hasn't in? How many examples do you have of people dealing with ransomware on their non-jailbroken iPhone?

Same as on Android: 0

Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#179

Post by andruby »

FredPret wrote: post #101
Vespasian wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand your concern and share some of them. However the solution to overreaching unaccountable private cooperations cannot be to hand all the power to another private unaccountable company. Apple is venturing into advertising and that'll tempt them to weaken privacy protections sooner or later. Additionally their app store rules went far beyond enforcing security and privacy. They gave themselves an advantage a…

I have a tiny measure of power over Apple. I can decide not to buy their products or their stock. But I have zero power over the EU. And yet they're legislating what my iPhone is going to work like. Talk about unaccountable. The free market did not deliver competing app stores because that is not a problem for the majority of users and is in fact a huge boon for most.

> But I have zero power over the EU.

This is true for every powerful country that you are not a citizen of.

For example: EU citizens have zero power over US regulations forcing US companies to share data with them. Plenty of examples from other jurisdictions as well.

I don't think there is a way around this. A global market with these influences is still much better than fully isolated markets.

Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#180

Post by tsbinz »

wackget wrote: post #140
mort96 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What happens when the apps which used to be available on the app store get taken down and made sideload-only, like what Epic did with Fortnite on Android?

Are you implying that allowing companies the choice to go sideload-only is a bad thing?

If the company is big enough (e.g. not using whatsapp is not an option for a lot of people), or if the app comes from a state that can force you to install it by law, yes it can be.
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