Apple Finally Clarifies the Risk for iPhone Users: Allowing Third-Party App Stores
Apple has been forced to allow third-party app stores for iPhone users in Europe, but the company continues to share its displeasure with making the change. This time, Phil Schiller is the person advocating a walled garden around iOS for its users. Interestingly, Schiller also talks about new options for developers, by which he means permission to use other payment systems for in-app purchases.
The Apple executive was quoted in an interview this month as the company plans to make the necessary changes to comply with EU rules that come into force in March 2024. He highlighted the risks associated with third-party app stores, which Apple cannot control in the same way it can with its own App Store. He also noted that the company is doing everything it can to reduce the apparent risks that iPhone users may face in the near future.
Schiller elaborated on the risk that third-party app stores allow iPhones to access content that was previously blocked on the platform. “It is not our decision whether these other marketplaces have the same conditions and restrictions,” Schiller was quoted as saying in this report.
The freedom to install apps from any app store on the iPhone may sound liberating to users, but Apple is concerned about apps that are only available outside of the App Store, and that’s when the company’s command and control aspect goes astray. Apple is definitely concerned about its business in Europe, which has forced the company to make drastic changes to its policies, including the fees charged to developers for hosting apps on the App Store.
The latest iOS 17.4 beta shows us the future of the platform and the company’s two-pronged strategy of having a Europe-centric iOS version while other countries continue business as usual.
