Although Apple is probably not happy about this situation, at least in Europe, it will be required to offer support for installing applications other than the App Store on the iPhone in the coming months under the requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The antitrust law, which aims to protect consumers and increase competition, has identified the first group of recession-challenging companies and technology products. Apple, iOS, App Store and Safari are included in this list.
As a result, Apple will have to make changes to the iPhone software to meet its new obligations under the DMA. On the App Store side, it will probably have to allow other companies to compete with its own app stores. Apple will also need to support third-party payment systems in Europe. With this change, consumers will be able to download applications from any source, not just from digital repositories such as the App Store and third-party equivalents.
Apple may have already started working on bringing such features to the iPhone in the near future. The iOS 17.2 beta already appears to have code that demonstrates support for sideloading and third-party app stores. Reviewing iOS 17.2 beta code, 9to5Mac reported that it found evidence that Apple is preparing to support app installations from sources other than the App Store. However, Apple has not yet confirmed this.
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