App subscription service Setapp is preparing to launch as an alternative app store, as soon as new EU regulations come into effect next year. The company is betting on the EU’s Digital Markets Act’s (DMA) rules that should allow users to install third-party apps on iOS without having to go through Apple’s App Store.
However, how Apple chooses to interpret the new law remains unclear.
A December 2022 report from Bloomberg indicated Apple was preparing to allow alternative app stores on iPhones and iPads to come into compliance with the DMA, despite its ongoing concerns over the security issues involved with “sideloading” apps which can impact consumers’ safety and privacy. But, the report noted, the tech giant was still discussing other ideas about how this new system would work — perhaps even requiring these apps to be verified by Apple for a fee.
In the meantime, though, Setapp is moving forward with the assumption that Apple devices will ultimately have to support third-party app stores, and is working on plans to launch its own.
The company today offers an app subscription service where users pay a fee of $9.99 per month in order to gain access to over 240 apps for their Mac, including utilities, productivity …
