Downloading apps from websites instead of the App Store will soon be an option in the EU for iPhone users with iOS 174, and for iOS developers as a whole, but it comes with some troubling caveats

Apple outlines how this will work on the "Getting Ready for Web Distribution in the EU" page on the Apple Developer website While the feature "will be available in a software update later this spring," it lays out a few rules that developers must follow to make their apps eligible

In order to obtain approval from Apple to distribute an app online, the app maker must already be registered as an Apple developer, be based in the EU, provide data transparency to users, agree to address any legal issues that may arise and other requirements

Most importantly, the developer must have "an app that has been installed more than 1 million times per year on iOS in the EU in the previous year" While this sounds like it will allow developers to offer web delivery of brand new apps (if they have already made a successful app in the past year), this rule in particular could severely limit who can actually take advantage of this new rule

And that's not to mention the hurdles that exist on the other end of the process The Web Distribution Guide requires individual iPhone users to select a non-App Store download in their phone's Settings app in order to download an app from a developer's website, and it is possible that non-tech-savvy users may revert to downloading apps via the App Store It also explains that they may revert back to downloading apps via the App Store

These guidelines, in addition to allowing full web distribution of apps, are part of Apple's response to the EU's Digital Markets Act and its efforts to ensure that large tech companies do not monopolize this sector It is also why Apple maintained access to web apps on its home screen and took steps toward a settlement with Epic Games, which may make it simpler to switch to an Android phone in the future

For developers with sufficient momentum, the web distribution route could be a legitimate option for their products and customers Especially since another feature required by the DMA, the use of a third-party app store, would mean some money for Apple Still, this is another example of Apple trying to comply with the law while at the same time protecting its own interests as much as possible We will have to wait and see what the EU has to say on this matter as this system goes live in the coming months

Meanwhile, users outside the EU will have to continue downloading apps the old-fashioned way, unless their governments enact laws similar to those in the EU, and Apple gets its way