The ability to sideload applications is already available in beta. Your device must meet some conditions.

Starting March 7, Apple must allow sideloading in iOS under Digital Markets Act rules. This allows developers to offer their applications outside of the App Store. The iOS 17.4 beta makes it clearer how this will work.

Firstly, it will not be complete freedom. Apple is setting up a new “App Marketplaces” platform that can also accommodate other app stores. Not everyone will have access to this platform: app stores must “provide a letter of credit of at least 1 million euros to guarantee support for developers and customers,” writes 9to5Mac.

The App Marketplace is based on an API developed by Apple itself. This gives Apple the necessary control over downloads, installations and updates from third-party sources. Apple would even employ human employees to monitor apps from external channels. So Apple continues to hold the reins. From now on, browsers no longer rely on the WebKit engine.

Only for Europe

The new rules only apply to Europe. In order to prevent users outside of this area from benefiting from the new rules, Apple is setting certain conditions. 9to5Mac discovered in the code of the latest beta update that the following things can be checked:

• The billing address of your Apple ID account
• Your current location (for privacy reasons, Apple only checks the country and not the exact location)
• Set region
• Device type

Through the menu Via your iPhone You can then check which region is set in the settings. If you live in the European Union this should normally already be set correctly. iOS 17.4 is available in beta today and will be available to all users in March by the March 7 deadline. The current version is iOS 17.3.

Past the checkout

Apple also shares more information about the new commission system. The DMA rules include that Apple must also allow payments outside of its own payment systems. Payments can be made using NFC technology in the iPhone. However, that doesn’t mean Apple no longer passes the test. The standard commission on purchases is adjusted to seventeen percent, a percentage that drops to ten percent after the first year for “most developers.” There is also a surcharge of three percent on “payment processing”.

Downloads via other channels are also not commission-free. After the first one million installations, Apple will now charge a fixed amount of half a euro per download, regardless of which channel the download takes place through. The Wall Street Journal wrote yesterday that Apple also wants to charge additional costs for sideloading.