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AltStore. The first Apple approved alternative App Store

altstore.io

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Re: AltStore. The first Apple approved alternative App Store

#71

Post by talldayo »

rcarmo wrote: post #61
jorams wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problems you talk about are deliberately created by Apple and only fixable by Apple. If you buy an iOS device you're opting in to whatever bullshit Apple comes up with that isn't explicitly regulated away, and when regulation is introduced Apple has made clear that they will do whatever they can to avoid complying with the spirit of said regulation. The creator of Delta is pushing the first regulation-protected r…

I will stop buying Apple devices when there are quality alternatives, hardware and ecosystem-wise. Android is (still) neither at this point.

Sounds like you're going to be in the business of fielding unpopular opinions for quite some time. I'm shocked that someone would shake their fist at the person developing code that you can go download right now[0] and not the business that prevents your phone from using it. If this is your sincere opinion, you either misunderstand the situation or expect to have your cake and eat it too.

[0] https://github.com/rileytestut/Delta

Re: AltStore. The first Apple approved alternative App Store

#72

Post by stefan_ »

fwn wrote: post #53
ssbash wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yattee, an alternative to NewPipe, has been available on the AppStore for over a year. Well before there was any pressure from the DMA. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/yattee/id1595136629

Yattee is a good example for what Apple puts those developers through. Here is a direct quote from their website: > Apple keeps rejecting macOS version of Yattee for several unrelated and random reasons. As I believe the App Store approval process is random and getting approval depends mostly on whether the reviewer has had a nice day, I keep resubmitting macOS versions with every update so maybe we will get lucky on…

The app also has obscure and incomplete features & UI purely to comply with Apple guidelines (or trick human reviewers paid beans into not actually realizing what the app is).

Re: AltStore. The first Apple approved alternative App Store

#73

Post by emeril »

SpaghettiCthulu wrote: post #65
apantel wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah you can’t update these phones. Things just degrade if you do. Happily running iOS 15 on my iPhone 12.

Do older versions of iOS still receive security patches?

not really

Re: AltStore. The first Apple approved alternative App Store

#74

Post by 2OEH8eoCRo0 »

blackeyeblitzar wrote: post #20

What does “Apple approved” mean? I know Apple has heavy handed curation, for example requiring various forms of moderation / censorship of social media apps. Can these stores offer whatever they want? Also what’s with that fee? Why aren’t phones forced to operate like traditional operating systems? Apple shouldn’t be allowed to charge fees for people to install software on devices they own.

It's malicious compliance. No judgement afaik says anything about an approval process.

Re: AltStore. The first Apple approved alternative App Store

#75

Post by blackeyeblitzar »

fsflover wrote: post #68
orf wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure you did, even indirectly: would iOS still be around now if every grandma got their money stolen through iOS malware?

Did it happen with Android yet?

Or with Windows computers?

Re: AltStore. The first Apple approved alternative App Store

#76

Post by talldayo »

Aloisius wrote: post #43
talldayo wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone ends up paying Apple either way. On the App Store, that person usually ends up being the developer. With the new framework (stupid as it may be), developers can choose to externalize that cost to users and make an example of how ridiculous it is. With high-demand apps like emulators, it's easy to attract users and directly expose them to the limits Apple imposes on them. That's a great vehicle for change, and…

Apple waves fees for non-profits (both developer annual fee and core technology fee), so at least qualifying free software organizations don't have to pay anything for either the app store or alt stores. https://developer.apple.com/support/fee-waiver/

Free software organizations don't package software. The people developing iOS ports of FOSS applications are not going to register as a nonprofit to play Apple's silly game. It's an insult of a fig-leaf to the industry at-large.

Re: AltStore. The first Apple approved alternative App Store

#77

Post by mvid »

fsflover wrote: post #68
orf wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure you did, even indirectly: would iOS still be around now if every grandma got their money stolen through iOS malware?

Did it happen with Android yet?

You can search for innumerable articles and anecdotes of people moving their family and elders to iOS on mobile and Linux on desktop for exactly these reasons

Re: AltStore. The first Apple approved alternative App Store

#78

Post by ranger_danger »

orf wrote: post #64
metalspoon wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fuck Apple, I never need their check. I'm not a grandma.

Sure you did, even indirectly: would iOS still be around now if every grandma got their money stolen through iOS malware?

Yes.

Re: AltStore. The first Apple approved alternative App Store

#79

Post by jorams »

rcarmo wrote: post #61
jorams wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problems you talk about are deliberately created by Apple and only fixable by Apple. If you buy an iOS device you're opting in to whatever bullshit Apple comes up with that isn't explicitly regulated away, and when regulation is introduced Apple has made clear that they will do whatever they can to avoid complying with the spirit of said regulation. The creator of Delta is pushing the first regulation-protected r…

I will stop buying Apple devices when there are quality alternatives, hardware and ecosystem-wise. Android is (still) neither at this point.

What you're saying is that you are not interested in solving what you describe as "The key problem with iOS app distribution".

I am not claiming Android is perfect in any way; I don't think a truly good usable mobile option exists. I will claim that the differences in quality are minor in comparison to the problematic level of control Apple exercises over iOS.

Re: AltStore. The first Apple approved alternative App Store

#80

Post by Aloisius »

talldayo wrote: post #76
Aloisius wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple waves fees for non-profits (both developer annual fee and core technology fee), so at least qualifying free software organizations don't have to pay anything for either the app store or alt stores. https://developer.apple.com/support/fee-waiver/

Free software organizations don't package software. The people developing iOS ports of FOSS applications are not going to register as a nonprofit to play Apple's silly game. It's an insult of a fig-leaf to the industry at-large.

Plenty of free software organizations package software. Heck Mozilla, Signal, VideoLAN, Mastodon, Wikimedia and Tor even package iOS software.

And frankly, most of the iOS ports of FOSS aren't themselves are closed source, so they don't really count as FOSS, but if the people who, say, ported OpenOffice to iPhone gave it to the Apache foundation? I can't see why they wouldn't release it.

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