A lot will change in the next iPhone update. You will soon be able to download apps in iOS 17 that are not from the App Store.
iOS 17: Download apps without App Store
There are quite a few cool features in iOS 17, but one part stands head and shoulders above it. According to the usually reliable Mark Gurman, Apple will allow iOS 17 to download apps that do not come from the App Store. This is also known as sideloading.
As a result, app developers do not have to hand over a percentage of their revenue to Apple, which they normally have to pay to get their app in the App Store. Apple needs to change this, because the EU has passed a law that requires large companies to open their services and platforms to other parties.
European legislation gave Apple two choices: apps must be downloaded from the Internet or more App Stores must be added to the iPhone, iPad and Mac. So Apple apparently chooses the first option.
Sideloading: both advantages and disadvantages
There is of course a considerable advantage to the new scheme: as an iPhone user you will soon have a choice of many more apps. Now you are still dependent on the apps that Apple does (or does not) allow in the App Store, later you decide for yourself which apps you want to download from the internet. So the choice increases sharply.
There is also a considerable disadvantage to this new development. Apple has less control over what can be downloaded on iPhones. Now Apple regulates the App Store, so you can be (almost) sure that you are downloading a reliable app. With the disappearance of this supervision, this certainty also disappears. This can put your iPhone at great risk with all the nasty consequences that entails.
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