Despite years of arguing they are unsafe for users, Apple is finally being forced into allowing third-party App Store alternatives in the EU, and one is already lined up and ready for launch.
Mobivention is a new business-focused app marketplace and is “the result of a close collaboration with Apple”. According to a press release Tuesday, Mobivention’s new marketplace is “primarily aimed at business customers who are looking for an alternative solution for distributing their apps.”
As Mobivention’s app is a business-focused marketplace, users need both an Apple developer account and “an app uploaded to Apple’s App Store Connect” to access it. This is a fairly niche use case but, given that Mobivention is an IT service provider, this makes a lot of sense. Mobivention’s role is to help out other developers and that’s what its App Store workaround is for. It will be launching on March 7, 2024 —the day Apple is legally mandated to start offering support for third-party marketplaces in the EU.
Only the start?
Earlier this year, MacPaw’s SetApp was announced for iOS. This subscription-based platform combines tools and services from collaborating developers like a cleaner for your files or a converter for images. Though this isn’t slated to arrive until April, there are more third-party app storefronts on the way.
AltStore is also coming to iPhones at some point in March. This is a sideloading app marketplace that allows developers who aren’t approved by Apple to publish apps and games. One such project is Delta — a dedicated emulation app made by the team who got a Game Boy running on Apple Vision Pro. Given emulation can fit into a bit of a gray area, it makes sense why this may not have been approved before. AltStore could open the floodgates to tonnes of creative projects from developers who couldn’t get App Store approval until now. For owners in the EU, the iPhone is about to get very exciting.