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- Apple has released betas for the Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
- Of all the new features, the biggest is direct app downloads from the web for EU iPhone users.
- Surely this will all come to the US soon?
The second betas of iOS 17.5 and macOS 14.5 are out, and while there are some pretty handy new features for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, the big news is that European users will be able to download iPhone apps directly from websites.
The new third-party tracker alerts, FaceTime improvements, a battery-health readout on the iPad, and the cool new word game in Apple News are all available in the US, whereas the ability to “sideload” apps directly from websites is EU-only, and restricted to the iPhone—the iPad remains as locked down as ever. This is great news for our EU-dwelling, iPhone-using friends, but wouldn’t it be better if Apple dropped its restrictions worldwide?
“The progressive conversation on tech regulation, and a parallel focus on expanding consumer choice, suggests a similar regulatory environment could develop in the US,” Jonathan Feniak, general counsel at LLC Attorney, told Lifewire via email.
Update Cycle
For the past few years, Apple has moved away from dumping all the new features into the annual fall releases of its various operating systems and instead spreads them out over the year. In the past, this has given us some huge updates mid-cycle, like when Apple added the completely new, rethought mouse compatibility to the iPad (and launched the Magic Keyboard with trackpad at the same time).
This is great for both users and for Apple because there’s no need to rush features or release them before they’re done, which—in theory—leads to fully-baked features that are relatively bug-free.
The second betas of iOS 17.5 and macOS 14.5 are out, and while there are some pretty handy new features for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, the big news is that European users will be able to download iPhone apps directly from websites.
The new third-party tracker alerts, FaceTime improvements, a battery-health readout on the iPad, and the cool new word game in Apple News are all available in the US, whereas the ability to “sideload” apps directly from websites is EU-only, and restricted to the iPhone—the iPad remains as locked down as ever. This is great news for our EU-dwelling, iPhone-using friends, but wouldn’t it be better if Apple dropped its restrictions worldwide?
Now, you’d hope that this meant that apps would be free of Apple’s app review process, but no. A clipboard app from Alt Store proprietor Riley Testut, called Clip, runs in the background so it can capture your clipboard for you. But even though it is not available in the official App Store, Apple still refused to “notarize” it because it broke App Store rules, in this case, running in the background.
Apple claims over and over that its App Store review process protects users, but it’s often the opposite. Because we have been trained to trust the App Store completely, we’re not prepared for all the scam apps that Apple actually publishes there.
“Inexperienced users have been getting tricked into downloading apps that could expose their data, steal their credentials, and worse from Apple’s App Store for years,” said Apple expert Sw1tcher in a forum thread, sharing a long list of fake and scam apps that Apple has inspected, reviewed, and then blessed for inclusion in its official App Store over the years.
Meanwhile, Mac users have been “sideloading” apps since 1984, and they’re doing just fine.
Hopefully, once Apple finally stops fighting the DMA and does the right thing, the US will enact similar laws. And the best part is that Apple won’t be able to argue that it can’t be done, or that it’s not safe, because the entire EU will be evidence that it can, and it is.
