Apple VP Says 'Working With The EU' To Allow Sideloading Apps On iOS

Apple AAPL is looking at ways to comply with the European Union's mandate to allow iPhone users to download and install applications from third-party sources.

What Happened: Apple's senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi has now said that the company is "working with the EU" to discuss how to comply with the European Union's mandate to allow sideloading applications from third-party application stores.

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Federighi added that "we want to make sure that whatever we do is the right thing for our customers" during John Gruber's "The Talk Show Live" at the WWDC 2023 event.

While Federighi did not explicitly state that iOS 17 will support sideloading, he suggested that the option will eventually be available given that the EU mandates it.

Why It's Important: The inability to sideload applications from third-party sources has long been an issue on iOS. While there have been some alternatives like Cydia, AltStore, and others, they still require users to jump through hoops.

In contrast, sideloading apps has always been possible on Android. Google GOOGL has also made it easier for third-party app stores to deliver seamless application updates.

Apart from the security implications, another reason behind Apple not allowing sideloading of applications is that the App Store is a big source of revenue for the company, with commissions of up to 30%.

The company was expected to enable sideloading applications with the iOS 17 update. However, the first developer beta release of the new operating system still needs to support it.

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