The first alternative App Store for iPhone is finally here. It’s not the expected app software house ucraina MacPaw: it is called AltStore PAL and is the result of the work of the young independent developer Riley Testut. The app can only be downloaded with iOS 17.4, the version of the operating system with which Apple has enabled the installation of programs from alternative sources to the App Storeas mandated by the Digital Market Acts of the European Union.
Testut created AltStore PAL to bypass Apple’s rules on app distribution for emulation of old video games. It is no coincidence that one of the first two apps available on AltStore PAL is Delta, the Nintendo console emulator (from NES to Nintendo 64) developed by Testut himself. The app is completely free and can be obtained in the EU from within AltStore. Meanwhile, probably as a consequence of European pressure and the recent cause of the US Department of JusticeApple has changed the global rules on the publication of emulators on the official App Store: they are now allowed, and Delta can also be downloaded in the rest of the world.
The only other app available at the moment in the alternative store is Clip, a small utility, also developed by Testut, which enables advanced management of copy-paste on iPhone. This second application cannot be distributed on iPhone via the App Store because it interacts with portions of the operating system which (for security reasons) are prohibited to developers by the rules of Apple’s official App Store: “AltStore Pal is an open-source app store , created specifically for independent developers and designed to solve App Store problems that many developers have encountered over the years – he wrote the developer in an article from his blog – Once we are sure that everything is working well we will open the doors to third-party apps.”
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Conditions for sideloading
To be able to install AltStore PAL you must respect some precise conditions: be a user resident in a European Union country and indeed have iOS 17.4 or later installed. Attention: you must also be physically on European Union soil at the time of download. We had firsthand experience of how stringent Apple’s geolocation controls are: from London, where we were until Friday for work, it was not possible to install the app in any way. As strange as it may seem, we couldn’t bypass geoblocking even with a VPNsuggesting that probably in the sideloading phase Apple checks not only the location of the connection but perhaps also the geographical position of the user.
Once we returned to Italy, we could proceed with the installation without problems. The process is a little more complex than simply installing an app through the App Store, and involves going through a series of warning screens and pop-ups and a step through the settings. Apple has planned everything to warn (and somehow discourage) less experienced users of the potential danger security related to application sideloading.
How download and installation work
The AltStore marketplace application is obviously not downloaded from the Apple App Store, but is installed via the so-called sideloading directly from project siteupon payment of an annual subscription of 1.5 euros plus VAT. Checkout is via Stripe, a well-known online payment service competing with PayPal. The choice of this system is a reassuring element: the credit card data is protected by the encryption of a secure and well-known gateway.
Clicking on the download link starts the installation process that requires everything a few minutes. If you encounter an installation error, it is likely that your smartphone is not updated. Other service information: if you close the page with the link to download AltStore, just repeat the payment procedure. By entering the email address used previously, Stripe will recognize the user and immediately provide the link to the download section. Before the final installation there is a further step different from the usual: after starting the download for the first time, you will have to go to Settings and from there manually approve the installation of the new Marketplace App. Once this step has been completed, it will be possible to return to the site and complete the download process.
Once AltStore is installed, just open it to explore the only two apps available until now. From here the installation procedure follows that of the official App Store and is equally intuitive, even if it always includes a few more security warnings and pop-ups. Once Delta and Clip are sideloaded, the apps will be available on the screen alongside all the others. For Clip, however, payment does not take place via Stripe, but a donation to the developer on the Patreon service is therefore required additional registration is required in case you are not yet registered users.
pros and cons
Although it is not that complicated, installing AltStore and the apps available within it it is not linear and intuitive like on the Apple App Store. In particular, the fact that registration for the service takes place via Stripe, an external service, is the main concern. Paying for the Clip app via the Patreon donation service adds another layer of fragmentation. The two subscriptions are in fact not visible or manageable directly from the iPhone Settings like any other subscription made on iOS. To cancel your AltStore Pal subscription you need to remember that it was done via Stripe and then access the external service to change your payment details or delete it. The same goes for the Patreon donation needed for Clip. It is easy to imagine how with the proliferation of alternative app stores one can easily lose track of various payments and subscriptions.
On the other hand though an app like Clipwhose advanced copy-and-paste management features are very useful, could never arrive on iPhone with the rules of the official App Store.
Good then freedom and the inspiration for innovation provided to independent software developers who don’t want to be subject to Apple’s rules. It’s a shame, however, that to achieve this result you have to give up the elegance and simplicity of the user experience of the App Store controlled by Apple, one of the main distinctive elements between iOS and Android.
The Cupertino company could have contributed to make sideloading smoother with fewer warnings and security steps? Of course yes, but we can also understand Apple’s point of view: if a less experienced user is invited and convinced to install a less controlled store (although approved by Apple) and through this were to install less secure apps or malware , who do you think he would blame? Garlic third-party developers o ad Apple?
To document the actions taken to comply with the DMA, at the end of March Apple posted a whitepaper on the new measures imposed. The company reiterates that the impositions of the regulation will make iOS less safe for users in the European Union, however the document also illustrates the initiatives undertaken to minimize the risks for users, within the limits imposed by compliance with the rules.
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The other alternative stores
At the time of writing, AltStore remains the only alternative app store that can be installed on iOS. Soon others will arrive however, like that of MacPawa Ukrainian company known for many applications for Mac and iPhone.
Among the most anticipated there’s the Epic Game Store. The video game company, which has been embroiled in a direct clash with Apple for years on the topic of alternative installation and payment systems for apps, is working on the Epic Games Store, through which it could return to distributing the famous video game Fortnite also on iPhone. According to Epic, the alternative marketplace is expected to debut by the end of 2024.
#alternative #App #Store #iPhone #dedicated #Europe
– 2024-04-23 22:38:40
