Setapp is one of the best-known app stores in the Mac world. Through a subscription, Setapp (developed by MacPaw) gives you access to a curated collection of around 240 apps, mostly focusing on small utilities like mockup builder. a VPN, a file converter or a cleaner. The subscription included some apps for iOS, but so far with the launch of Apple’s operating system, MacPaw has not been able to launch the third-party store for the iPhone.

In fact, Setapp Mobile is coming to iOS in closed beta today (an open beta is planned for the summer) and we were already able to test it ourselves from Xataka. This has been our experience.

It was supposed to be the first but it didn’t happen. It came as no surprise when MacPaw announced its intention to launch Setapp following developments in iOS resulting from European regulations. Setapp would be the first store to compete with the App Store on its home turf, but Alt Store beat it out (with none other than the Delta emulator). But Setapp has something AltStore doesn’t: a larger collection of apps and store recognition on the Mac. That’s why it’s the first truly great alternative to the App Store.

Setapp application download screen | Image: Xataka

How does it work? By subscription. Is this the fee? We asked this a week ago and the answer we received was “The exact price of Setapp Mobile will be determined later.” On Mac it costs 11.48 euros per month. What is important in any case is that the subscription includes access to each of the applications without advertising or micropayments. What’s more, MacPaw says on its website that “we’re always adding new apps, but prices never increase.”

How many applications does it contain? It was little, but it was more than it was when we started trying. For context, we’ve been using Setapp since May 2nd, and our collection of apps has increased by four or five apps since then. As I write these lines, there are 16 applications. Actually, take off the masks: At first I thought there was nothing to convince me. Now two apps have come out, one for personal finance control and the other for the manual camera, which tempts me but at the moment I still think this is not the store for me. We will come back to this topic.

That’s all we can find on Setapp right now: a download page, a search engine and a profile page | Captured: Xataka

This is what app tabs look like in Setapp | Captured: Xataka

These are all the apps we can find in the store right now | Captured: Xataka

It’s worth making a note here. Setapp has a subscription called Setapp for Mac+iOS that includes apps for Mac and their iOS versions, but so far this has been a very limited idea and a bit confusing to implement. What interests us today is that Setapp Mobile is different: It is a full-fledged store from which applications can be downloaded.

Installation process. It’s as tedious as AltStore: You access the website, click install, go to mobile settings, authorize the store, go back to the browser, download, click “Install app store” and confirm you want to install. After the installation is completed, you log in with your Setapp account and download the applications. To do this, you choose one, authorize Setapp to install the application, and then the installation is done. It’s a ridiculously long process and unfortunately it’s up to Apple, not Setapp. Anyone can tell that this is done to deter the user.

Step 1: Install Third Party Store on iPhone | Captured: Xataka

Step 2: install an app | Captured: Xataka

What about apps? I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, it’s a pleasure to download an app and not be bombarded with ads, privacy messages, tracking requests, and premium features. For example, Downie is an application used to download videos from YouTube (among other platforms). You won’t believe it: you add a link and the video is downloaded. You don’t need to see an ad for a game that looks nothing like the real game, fill out a captcha or buy a subscription for 4.99 euros a month. It works, period. This is a feeling I forgot.

This is what Downie looks like. In fact, it is neither an ad, nor a pop-up, nor a subscription. Pure fantasy | Captured: Xataka

Another useful tool is Clean Up My iPhone, which is used to eliminate unnecessary things in the gallery such as duplicate photos, screenshots, etc. This is not something that cannot be done manually, but it is admirable for an app to do this. You. Special mention deserves Optika, one of the recently added applications, which consists of a manual photography application in which values ​​​​such as exposure, focus, white balance or shutter speed are adjusted.

This is Clean Up My iPhone | an app to clear gallery and free up space. Captured: Xataka

This is Optika, an application for using the camera in manual mode | Captured: Xataka

Interestingly, there are many apps with iOS versions available in Setapp for Mac+iOS that are not available in Setapp Mobile. For example, Teleprompter App, Spark Mail, VidCap or Ulysses are applications with iOS versions that cannot be downloaded to Setapp Mobile, at least for now. It is hoped that they will, as there will be thirty applications for the open beta to launch in the summer.

Gadgets and utilities. That’s basically what Setapp Mobile offers; A set of applications that have very specific functions and fulfill their purpose in a simple and understandable way. These aren’t basic apps or apps that don’t have free alternatives on the App Store; but they are simple, well-designed, functional applications that do what they are supposed to do. The value is not in the volume of applications, but in the simplicity of the store and the assurance that things will work without any more hidden costs. You pay the subscription and that’s it.

This window will appear every time we want to install a Setapp application (and any third-party store) | Image: Xataka

So it’s not for everyone.. Users looking for a lot of apps and games like Google Play Pass on Setapp Mobile will not find it. It’s not a subscription for everyone, but rather an app store focused on productivity. In my case, there are a few apps (MonAI and Optika) that might convince me and seem useful, but they don’t have enough weight for me to be willing to add another subscription to the catalog of subscriptions I’ve already paid for. . Ultimately, it’s a matter of priorities and preferences.

Pictures | Xataka

in Xataka | No third-party stores were a real threat to the App Store. Aptoide will come to prove the opposite