It looks like Apple will be introducing the ability to sideload apps on your iPhone with the new iOS 17 software update which is expected later this year along with the new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro smartphones.
Apple will make iOS 17 official at their Worldwide Developer Conference in June and the software should be released around September along with the new iPhones. according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, one of the new features coming in this software update is the ability to sideload apps on the iPhone.
What this means is that you would be able to load apps on the iPhone from alternative app stores other than the official Apple App Store, Apple will be allowing this to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The act requires companies like Apple to allow alternative companies and developers to offer apps on their platforms. You can see what Mark Gurman had to say abiut this below.
And iOS 17 will cause some noise beyond WWDC itself. Apple is working to overhaul the software to open up the iPhone to sideloading — the downloading of apps outside of its official store — to comply with new European regulations by next year.
It will be interesting to see what happens when Apple allows apps from alternative app stores on its platform and whether this will have any sort of negative impact on the company’s app store revenue.
Image Credit: James Yarema
Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals
Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy.