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I suspect people similar to yourselve, complain the loudest about Mac OS bugs 😏
I don't side load anything on my Mac and I don't have any issues, certainly not about to start now on the iPhone 😊
If you‘re in China or Russia, then the government is proud of you.
 
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You do realise that nobody forces customers to buy iPhones, right? As an Apple customer, I deliberately chose the "walled garden" experience because for me it has way more benefits than drawbacks.

Other people are free to act differently and if they want the freedom to install whatever they want on a phone, they can get one from a countless list of Android phone makers.

You've been brainwashed into thinking Apple has no competition.

I want my phone to stay the way it is. I don't want to download apps from the web. I don't want to put my credit card information on a thousand different websites. I don't want to manage my subscriptions in five different places. I don't want to install junk App Stores from Microsoft, Meta, Google, Amazon, Epic just to get their software and services.

I want one App Store. I don't want to deal with multiple registrations, multiple payment processing systems, and multiple sources of junk just to get the apps and services I want.

Let me have what I want. If you don't like it, buy a Samsung phone and enjoy all the "benefits" of being free to install apps from whatever source you want.

You can still use the iPhone the way it is. Just use the App Store and no other supplier.

I think Apple had the chance to innovate in this space while still avoiding Sideloading but chosen not to. They refused to tier their App Store services. Started making absurd demands to for instance game streaming services that in indeed were contrary to customers interests (big corp politics) … That hampered their cause that was otherwise not without merit.

Anyway will see how this is implemented. Who knows.
 
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Good, TikTok will never get banned in the US now. People can download the TikTok app directly from TikTok International. It's impossible to block via IP because it will cost the US government 100 billion+ in infrastructure to achive that, and at the same time slow down internet massively.
You cannot because the US model won‘t receive the iOS version that allows sideloading.
Case closed.
 
Alternative a)

Apple will allow sideloading:

- Only models with 6 GB RAM or more will be compatible
- Will be under a sandbox virtual machine inside iOS or iPadOS, with every layer (storage, photos, camera, on their own - no interact with core operating system resources)
- Will be an on/off switch in advanced options in settings, warning:
* It will reduce system performance considerably

You can install whatever you want on your device, but this will NOT interact with the core operating system at any level.

Alternative b)

Apple will allow sideloading, natively:

- Every iOS 17 supported model will be compatible
- Will be an on-only switch in advanced options in settings, warning:
* Face ID will be disabled
* Apple Pay will be disabled
* FaceTime will be disabled
* Apple Watch integration will be disabled
* Only App Store will remain enabled and possibly Apple Music and Apple TV+
- You will have 3 warning messages indicating that this could put your data at risk
- In order to disable it and revert to normal no-sideloading operation, you must factory-reset your iPhone

Basically, you will have an unlocked iPhone, but crippled.

This will comply with EU regulation: you want to install whatever you want? Cool, install whatever you want. Then, if this is useful or not, or cripple your iPhone, it's not their problem.
You clearly have no idea how Face ID nor Apple Pay works code-wise. And this is why such decisions are left for others to make. Not everyone in the EU government is unknowledgable, and they do have research groups who do not only assess the legal framework but have tech experts in it, too, above the average MacRumors self-prclaimed experts.
 
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I did. How will making side load that completely bypasses Apple's policies IMPROVE the malware situation?
The policy is iOS and it allowing or disallowing code to be executed at the OS level, outside of the app framework.
If malware is to be executed, only Apple is to blame. Have you never read the part of „security fixes and speed improvements“ part of any app or OS update? That is what this is about because they don‘t even trust their own app review team.

And again, sideloading exists for almost any device that has been handed out by a capable company to their employee.
 
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It sounds like you've "completely fallen into" the EU trap thinking they know best what is good for Apple's customers.

As customer, I appreciate the "walled garden" experience (with all its well known compromises) for its convenience and ease of use. If I didn't appreciate it, I would have bought an Android phone instead!

Users in the end are NOT going to benefit at all. They will get the same apps and services as before and pay the same prices as before. What will be different is that instead of paying 30% to Apple, you'll be paying 30% to Epic. Do you think that's a good move? Would you rather give more money to the company that makes devices that YOU love (because hey, you have an iPhone too, right?) or give that money to Google, Microsoft, Epic, Amazon etc?

Think of it like this: zero actual benefits for the users, Google makes more money and most important of all, you get a federated App Store and payment processing system environment in which users have to go through whatever hoop Google, Microsoft, Epic, Amazon etc decide you have to go through to use their software.

Is that a good thing? Because to me, it sounds like a nightmare.
A LOT of data privacy improvements Apple only did on the behalf of EU regulations.
You throw insults at the „imcompetent“ EU all you want but Apple is not interested in your privacy but instead interested and invested in your belief that Apple cares about it.
 
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This argument was used a couple of times here already, but come on. 'Side-loading' is possible on macOS, Windows and Android.
I have a Mac, and let me tell you: more than half of the apps I have installed on my Mac don't come from the App Store.

These are not apps that would violate the App Store rules in any way, it's just that the developer chose to distribute their software outside the App Store to "avoid the Apple tax".

Maybe that's good for these companies, but does it really benefit the users? As a user, the only thing I can see is the mess of having to manage installs, updates, and payment information in a thousand different places instead of one and having to deal with third-party installers that install junk and root kits everywhere in my system just to let me use their stupid service.

I'll give you a quick example of what I mean: Spotify on macOS.

Spotify as you know for sure is available on the iOS App Store, but not on the Mac App Store.

To get Spotify on your Mac you have to go to their website, download the installer and run the installer to install the app on your Mac.

The installer doesn't just install the Spotify app on your system, but also edits some system files (without your explicit permission) so that Spotify can launch itself automatically every time you restart your computer.

screen.png


And this is just the start. Who knows what other junk is installed by these third-party installers. They all ask for the admin password, even when they install trivial, self-contained apps, and that means that they technically have permission to install junk wherever they want inside your system.

I seldom appreciate the fact that I can install whatever I want on my Mac, but I am often frustrated by all the third-party installers that try to install junk and adware and having to deal with third-party payment processing systems.

I don't want my phone to become like this.
 
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Great I go back to the JB glory days of playing arcade Robotron via emulation on my iPad with decent controllers. Bring it on ASAP
 
Sideloading will make it worse, certainly won't make malware situation BETTER. And now since you can completely bypass Apple's review, expect malware situation to get far worse.
It absolutely will make malware situation better.

Android and Windows and macOS allow for third-party software but they also have a lot of protections in place, from scanning the links through database of known malware (macOS Safari also does that) to features like core isolation, separation of root and user access, permissions model, etc.

It's about time for Apple to embark on that journey for iOS and to stop relying on manual reviewing of submitted software, which will make it more secure for all the customers, including those who don't care about sideloading at all.
 
A LOT of data privacy improvements Apple only did on the behalf of EU regulations.
You throw insults at the „imcompetent“ EU all you want but Apple is not interested in your privacy but instead interested and invested in your belief that Apple cares about it.
I remember Apple caring about privacy WAY before the EU even started acknowledging the existence of potential privacy risks.

Apple actually pioneered many of the security solutions that we take for granted today (app sandboxing, full system and user data encryption, etc... they were built into iPhone since day one).

The EU is only good at brainwashing people, inventing stupid regulations that don't achieve anything substantial and instead stifle technology and innovation. You can thank them every time you have to click on one of those stupid "Accept all cookies" banners while fully knowing that they serve NO PURPOSE WHATSOEVER and that they don't make your browsing any more secure. Do you really think those people know what they are doing? They are as clueless as a bunch of Karens in a space Mission Control room.
 
It's the same reason why most Mac users think Macs don't get viruses: They're both computer illiterate and Apple gaslit them.

This is why I keep saying the iPhone ruined a generation of computer users.
There was a time the Mac was 'virus proof' but this was due to its narrow market share rather than security. Apple now controls something like 35-40% of the US PC market and are a much bigger target.

I've not been a fan of the iPhone 'infantilisation' either. Apple have done their job gaslighting a generation of customers into believing that sideloading is somehow going to destroy their iPhone and it reflects on their bottom line. There's nothing wrong with tech that 'just works' but its nice to unpick it and learn to solve your own problems too.
 
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What did you try selling to Walmart that you know this?
30-60% markup is pretty typical in retail. On gadgets and nick-nacks it can be 2-300%. On consignment you might get get 50%

I was doing work for a small manufacturer who wanted Walmart to stock his product and they wanted 60% of the SRP on consignment which would have left him with a negative number for his trouble unless he could increase production x10 to lower manufacture costs with no guaranteed sales outlet.

Unless you are a mega-brand (e.g. Apple, Nike, Adidas) your profits from chain store sales is gonna suck.
 
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We have been able to "side load" on the Mac system since forever, and it has been a blessing as I have been able to download apps that q) more complete than their App Store versions, b) download apps that compete directly with Apple's apps, and c) down load apps whose cost 100% goes to the developers. One has to be a little more careful, but then Apple hasn't been that good at protecting us from bad players in the iOS App Store. (It's always been more about protecting Apple's profits than protecting the consumer)

It's about choice, folks. If you want the walled garden you are free to stick with the App Store. But I for one look forward to the expanded choices soon to become available.
It's also allowed apps that have greater access to drives, for example. Like the excellent DaisyDisk.
 
I have a Mac, and let me tell you: more than half of the apps I have installed on my Mac don't come from the App Store.

These are not apps that would violate the App Store rules in any way, it's just that the developer chose to distribute their software outside the App Store to "avoid the Apple tax".

Maybe that's good for these companies, but does it really benefit the users? As a user, the only thing I can see is the mess of having to manage installs, updates, and payment information in a thousand different places instead of one and having to deal with third-party installers that install junk and root kits everywhere in my system just to let me use their stupid service.

I'll give you a quick example of what I mean: Spotify on macOS.

Spotify as you know for sure is available on the iOS App Store, but not on the Mac App Store.

To get Spotify on your Mac you have to go to their website, download the installer and run the installer to install the app on your Mac.

The installer doesn't just install the Spotify app on your system, but also edits some system files (without your explicit permission) so that Spotify can launch itself automatically every time you restart your computer.

View attachment 2190177

And this is just the start. Who knows what other junk is installed by these third-party installers. They all ask for the admin password, even when they install trivial, self-contained apps, and that means that they technically have permission to install junk wherever they want inside your system.

I seldom appreciate the fact that I can install whatever I want on my Mac, but I am often frustrated by all the third-party installers that try to install junk and adware and having to deal with third-party processing systems.

I don't want my phone to become like this.

It's a valid point, but this problem is a testament to how bad macOS organizes stuff internally, and how atrocious Mac App Store is for developers.

Imagine if macOS apps would be properly sandboxed, and if Mac App Store was actually fair and inviting for developers?

I'm absolutely certain we can achieve both side-loading and convenience; Android is a good example of that, and iOS would probably be even better.
 
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Let's just hope the apps that we need to use don't back out of the app store and make us hunt them down one by one in third party stores and their own sites, with no checks for security and user experience.

But I think it will happen for many of the apps that people use.
Any app that is pushed out of the Apple App Store will probably not stay on my phone. I think it’s more their loss than mine really.
 
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So when I side load to to Nintendo , Sony and Xbox hardware then ?
When Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft will start producing general computing devices used by billions.

Which Microsoft kinda does, but there is a good reason why Xbox Series X with a ton of compute power costs $500, while their small underpowered ARM-based devkit costs more.
 
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