Earlier this week, we told you that iOS 17 would enable side-loading apps, something very long awaited both on the part of iPhone users and, above all, on the part of a large group of developers who do not want (or cannot) upload their applications to the App Store, either because of the “bite” of the digital store for every payment related to them, the strict conditions imposed on the content and the container, due to some decisions that may seem, at least from the outside, extremely arbitrary… In short, even if we are not developers, it does not take much exercise in thought to quickly conclude that this statement makes a lot of sense.

lateral load, lateral load in English is the function that was ever-present in virtually every operating system in history. In Android of course yes, but also in the whole suite of desktop operating systems, in other mobile operating systems… Come on, Apple with iOS is an exception, and given the pace that regulators are taking in this regard, it seems reasonable to think it won’t be long before he stops being one, unless he wants to face sanctions like the ones he already had to face in the Netherlands.

The European authorities are, and this is something for which we should be grateful on the old continent, pioneers defend consumer rights against some policies of technology companies that prioritize their benefits over user rights, as well as free competition in markets. We have seen several examples recently, such as the advancement of the right to repair, the standardization of USB-C as a universal charging port, the extension of device life through software updates and, as far as we are concerned in this particular case, the facilitation of free competition in closed environments, which is precisely the way iOS has been designed since its inception.

Soon, Apple in Europe will be obliged to allow the presence of third-party stores as well as payments through third-party systems in the iPhone operating system, so we hope that this obligation will also be reflected in the future iOS 17, which will be presented at WWDC 2023 and users will start receive in mid-September, a few days after the introduction of the iPhone 15. However, in the comments of Mark Gurman to MacRumors, Sideloading in iOS 17 will only come to Europe in response to the old continent’s legislation.

However, this makes a lot of sense technically it can cause some problemsto which we must add that systems bypassing this restriction are likely to become widespread soon and very quickly unless Apple goes all out and uses some physical means to distinguish iPhones distributed in Europe from those sold in the rest of the world… and by the way, which decided to increase the price of the same, which is justified precisely by the additional costs of adopting the mentioned measure.

The App Store is an exceptional source of revenue for Apple, and that should drive us understand their insomnia to maintain the current model. However, with minimal objectivity, it seems clear that we are talking about a model that does not fit into the current context, at least not if it is compulsorily imposed on the user. It is true that the proverbial walled garden of iOS has a positive effect on the security of users, so I believe that if they could choose, many would choose to keep this model. However, forcing users who want “something more” to have to resort to means such as jailbreakis a clear sign that those from Cupertino are not sufficiently satisfying the interests and needs of their users.