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Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

macrumors.com

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Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#981

Post by sham1 »

trappistpunk wrote: post #967
docmars wrote: post #750

Oh the horror, it must be so hard for Apple to cave to an open system for these people. What will they ever do without their unbelievable tax on app profits simply for existing on their nearly unlimited real estate, that is, the web?! I have no sympathy for their concerns. I can download apps on my MacBook machines all day from many different sources, and it harms no one. While I understand the associated risks, comp…

> If commercial real estate charged XX% cuts of all sales from a business, every business would crumble with enough time FWIW, at least in the US, this is actually how a lot of commercial/retail real estate works. Every mall or shopping center you visit charges rent based on sales revenue.

It must then be a question of perspective and what people are used to, because this specific ruling about the EU and not about the US.

It's of course good to bring up the analogy, but it just means that Apple shouldn't be using American business tactics in the EU, actually.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#982

Post by wildrhythms »

OCASMv2 wrote: post #806
somat wrote: post #489

The whole app ecosystem(android and apple) is carefully constructed for maximum market owner value extraction, user value is a secondary consideration. Basically, it is what the web would look like if it were developed by corporate interests, conversely "apps" could have been a better designed web[1], but instead are this comparatively clunky gated process where you have to explicitly install the app first only then…

> The whole app ecosystem(android and apple) is carefully constructed for maximum market owner value extraction, user value is a secondary consideration. And it has become the norm because both developers and consumers have readily and happily accepted that deal.

Did developers and consumers have a choice? Maybe at some micro niche level, but the capitalistic status quo is driven by mass production and monopolistic forces, by design.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#983

Post by berkes »

frumper wrote: post #961
berkes wrote: post #934

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There’s literally nothing stopping There's literally apple stopping that. By limiting APIs, by removing the ability to treat them as other apps (home screen icons), by blocking apps that are hybrids etc.

You can add an icon to your home screen as a bookmark to the page. Most of the apps I have feel like web pages anyway.

In most countries it's still possible, but Apple announced to remove this feature¹, then announced it's not removing it b/c the EU told them it's not going to accept that or so. I've lost count by now.

In any case, it's possible, but with very little effort, could be far easier than managing native apps even. But alas, that's a threat to a business model of Apple, so not going to happen unless forced, as

¹ https://9to5mac.com/2024/02/15/ios-17-4-web-apps-european-un...

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#984

Post by frumper »

berkes wrote: post #983
frumper wrote: post #961

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can add an icon to your home screen as a bookmark to the page. Most of the apps I have feel like web pages anyway.

In most countries it's still possible, but Apple announced to remove this feature¹, then announced it's not removing it b/c the EU told them it's not going to accept that or so. I've lost count by now. In any case, it's possible, but with very little effort, could be far easier than managing native apps even. But alas, that's a threat to a business model of Apple, so not going to happen unless forced, as ¹ https://9t…

They said they'd remove web apps, not bookmarks. A bookmark on the home screen just opens in the browser instead of its own webview. They're simple to add and use.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#985

Post by DirkH »

xgl5k wrote: post #938
bimguy wrote: post #869

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are not a big fan of the EU after this? They seem to care more about privacy and rights of the people within the majority of the countries that make up the EU then any other outside country that I could name. Then again, I'm not American so I can easily see the influence your country has on most other countries, so to say the "EU have enormous capacity for overreach at the expense of participating countries and t…

The EU is not exactly doing this exclusively for privacy. This is a geopolitical ploy to thwart America's dominance in Tech, as a cope for not being able to produce any homegrown rivals to America's tech giants.

An alternative - and you have to admit reasonable counter-hypothesis - is that everything you just wrote as a belief is - to some degree - American Cope to explain away why the US can't have what Europe does.

Also known as projection.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#986

Post by DirkH »

whywhywhywhy wrote: post #948
pg_1234 wrote: post #874

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The EU should make a public service announcement. Something along the lines of: "We urge all EU citizens with Apple devices to have an alternate means of accessing critical internet services like banking, to protect themselves in the event we are forced to block all Apple services EU-wide for legal non-compliance." ... then watch AAPL stock drop below NVDA ... ... and Apple come crawling back, suitably obedient.

or more likely learn extremely quickly that their citizens prefer their iPhones to their politicians, there would be protests within the hour if they ever blocked iPhones. Weird to me how common it has become in the last 5 years for people to gleefully cheer for tyranny and control.

"Tyranny and control"

I can't get the boomer comic where the guy pulls the calendar and sees the next year is 1984 out of my head now.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#987

Post by DirkH »

capr wrote: post #891
fennecbutt wrote: post #815

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are you defending a trillion dollar company lmao? Why do you care so much that Apple has been forced to give consumers more choice, you can still just use the app store yourself, nobody is forcing you to use apps from alternative stores. This is the standard "one true religion" reaction imo.

maybe because forcing people or companies (property of people) is wrong?

We have been forcing people and companies into compliance of some sort since the dawn of civilization.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#988

Post by DirkH »

gxs wrote: post #792
endisneigh wrote: post #756

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m very curious how you have this position yet have a MacBook. Why not support a better company like framework?

Because people are incredibly entitled and want to have their cake and eat it too. So you bought an iPhone knowing you can’t download apps and then go cry because you can’t download apps? Then your argument is that well, all my friends have iPhones or there are some other good features, or whatever else you make up? So you obviously find value in the product, it’s missing a feature, but you will consciously buy it an…

Dude this is the foundation of capitalism. Its not supply and bend over. Its supply and demand.

It is totally reasonable to demand a better steak salad from some restaurant that doesn't allow modifications and moreover totally reasonable to point out how asinine they are for not making easy-to-do modifications when you point it out since that is what you as a paying customer want.

Imagine we lived in a world where 95% of restaurants never ever and vehemently so denied any modification to menu items. It is unreasonable then to demand they change? I need to move towns to get lunch?

This is the insanity we live in with the walled gardens of Apple.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#989

Post by docmars »

walteweiss wrote: post #920
docmars wrote: post #850

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Precisely! That's the key difference between iOS and macOS devices, essentially. I've never owned an iPhone primarily because its environment is so constrained, and the possibility of losing access to important apps due to failure of approval or other frivolous issues Apple hysterically deems unfit for publishing, is a huge single point of failure not worth risking. In reality, it's safer to assume that most or all m…

‘Nearly 20 years’ got me. I thought ‘no way, the very first iPhone was released a little bit more than 10 years ago and Android was released a year after’. Then I realised we’re closer to 20 years than we’re to 10 years. It was almost 17 years ago, the very first iPhone!

Daunting to think about, right??

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#990

Post by melvyn2 »

Crosseye_Jack wrote: post #34
Ballas wrote: post #6

I just want to be able to install my own apps on my own device without paying $99/year (and with a signature that lasts a reasonable amount of time). Sadly, this doesn't seem to allow for that.

Altserver+Altstore. Altserver will resign your apps, and altstore can background "refresh" your apps so they _shouldn't_ expire on your. It refreshes when your on the same wifi network as altserver, for me it works most of the time, but sometimes I need to kick altserver to get the phone to see it. Doesn't fix the issue, and its a limitation that annoys the hell out of me too, but at least helps mitigate it. (Though…

AltStore is a bad joke, you can only install 2 apps (three, minus the altstore app), and you have to connect your phone to a MacOS computer and run the app every week.

Just let me click on an IPA to install it, it's really not that deep!

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