Just a few months ago you’d have to pinch me pretty hard to convince me Aptoide was coming to the iPhone. I have been using Android devices for over 15 years and Aptoide was the first third-party store I installed on my device. An app that is not without controversy and allows the installation of some questionable APK files. Fortunately, the picture has changed a lot: today Aptoide is one of the largest app stores in the world and its security is more than proven.

Aptoide has already announced that they will be coming to iOS, billing themselves as the “first alternative to the App Store for iPhone.” This is not entirely true since the first third-party store was AltStore. The main point is that the approach is different: Aptoide wants to be a direct alternative to the App Store, while AltStore is a complement to downloading Open Source applications.

What is Aptoide?. If you haven’t interfered with the world cacharreo Android, you may not know Aptoide. The store is over 10 years old and was born as an open source alternative to the Play Store.

A huge APK file repository that hosts applications from many industry giants. In fact, it is still one of the largest app stores in the world today.

Current status of Aptoide. From an alternative app store to the App Store and one of the largest distribution platforms in the world. Aptoide today is not just an app for Android: it is an app distribution website, a solution for smart TV and even an app store for Android Automotive.

The company has even signed agreements with giants such as Mercedes to integrate its services into the software used by the German manufacturer. Currently, Aptoide has more than 430 million users and over 1 million applications in total, according to its developers.

Is it comparable to a regular store? For now, it’s clear that alternatives like AltStore, which has two apps to start with, can’t match the App Store. A similar situation occurs with SetApp: It is a service that does not have many applications and also requires a paid subscription. What about Aptoide?

WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Office suite, Telegram, Netflix, Spotify, Zoom… All, almost all daily applications (including Spanish banking applications) are published on Aptoide.

Difficulty in offering alternatives to domestic production. Aptoide is touted as the first app store that could truly disrupt the App Store. It’s free, has all the necessary applications to use the phone, and has an industry-backed giant behind it.

Problem? Invite the user to install something from an alternative store that they can install from the App Store. It should be added that native iPhone applications will most likely never appear in Aptoide.

For now, we can sign up to the list to receive information about access to the store as soon as it becomes available. There is no news about its exact date, but everything indicates that soon it will be possible to install this store on our iPhone.

Picture | Aptoide

in Xataka | How to install apps on your iPhone from alternative app stores like AltStore?