Apple to permit iPhone sideloading in coming weeks for EU users: Report

Apple is bowing to antitrust pressure and will reportedly enable sideloading on iPhone and iPad for EU users within weeks to comply with the Digital Markets Act.

iPhone demo zone at an Apple Store. (Image: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

After years of tightly controlling the iOS ecosystem, Apple is finally being forced to open up iPhone and iPad to allow sideloading – installing apps from outside the App Store.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple plans to enable sideloading “in the coming weeks” for users in Europe. This is to comply with antitrust legislation passed by the EU last year known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Interestingly, Gurman reports that the App Store will be split into two versions – one for EU countries that allows sideloading, and another for the rest of the world that maintains the status quo.

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The DMA specifically requires Apple to allow developers to distribute iOS apps through channels other than the App Store. It also forces Apple to let developers implement third-party payment systems for in-app purchases and subscriptions.

Apple has reportedly been working behind the scenes to figure out how to comply with the DMA since early last year. The company’s software chief Craig Federighi acknowledged recently that Apple has no choice but to adhere to the new EU rules.

The deadline for compliance is March 7, so Apple does not have much time left. Japan is also working on similar antitrust rules that will mandate sideloading, showing that the pressure is mounting globally.

In the United States, the Department of Justice seems prepared to crack down on Apple’s iOS restrictions as well. With multiple countries and government agencies lining up, it may end up being easier logistically for Apple to simply allow sideloading globally rather than take a piecemeal approach.

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It is a significant concession for Apple after over a decade of rigid control on iOS. However, with little wiggle room legally, Apple is reluctantly beginning to open up the platform. The impacts on security, privacy and the App Store business model itself remain to be seen.