Now that the second betas of iOS 17.5 and macOS 14.5 are out, there are some cool new features for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. But the most important thing is that people in Europe will be able to download iPhone apps straight from websites.
People in the US can get the cool new word game in Apple News, better third-party tracker alerts, and a battery health readout for the iPad. However, people in the EU can only “sideload” apps directly from websites on their iPhones—the iPad is still as locked down as ever. This is great news for our iPhone-using friends who live in the EU, but wouldn’t it be better if Apple changed its rules for everyone?
Jonathan Feniak, general counsel at LLC Attorney, told us via email, “The progressive conversation on tech regulation and the parallel focus on expanding consumer choice suggest that a similar regulatory environment could develop in the US.”
Update Cycle
Apple no longer puts all of its new features into the fall releases of its different operating systems. Instead, it shares them out over the year. Over the years, this has led to some big changes in the middle of the cycle. For example, Apple added new, rethought mouse support to the iPad and released the Magic Keyboard with Trackpad at the same time.
This is good for both users and Apple because they don’t have to rush features or release them before they’re ready. This should mean that the features are fully baked and bug-free.
Before we talk about side-loading, let’s take a look at some of the more important changes that are coming in these beta updates that are now out. A new daily word game called Quartiles is the most fun. It’s only available to people who pay for Apple News+ and live in the Apple News app.
Third-party tracker reports are also sent to us, so iPhone users will know when suspicious trackers are using Google’s network. This makes it the same as Google’s Find My Device network, which just started a week ago and can already let users know about Apple’s AirTags.
People who use FaceTime will be able to “block all participants” in a call. I guess this will be like storming out of a meeting and slamming the door.
People who use iPads are also included. People who have an iPhone or a Mac already get battery health stats. For example, it will tell you how much of the original full capacity you have left.
Okay, enough of that. Let’s talk about the App Store.
Wishful Thinking
The European Commission’s DMA (Digital Markets Act) rules have slowly worn down Apple. These laws name big, powerful tech companies and make them play fair. Apple started by letting people in the EU use other iPhone app shops, but they still wanted to charge developers a lot of money ($0.53 per user, per year, after certain conditions were met).
The catch was that these app shops had to let other developers sell their goods too, so you couldn’t just sell your apps. You also had to let Apple look at your books to make sure you weren’t holding back any of “its” money.
Both Apple and the EC have said and done different things. Right now, Apple is letting software developers offer downloads straight from their websites.
You might think this means that Apple won’t have to review apps, but it doesn’t. Riley Testut, who owns the Alt Store, made a clipboard app called Clip that runs in the background and copies your text for you. But Apple wouldn’t “notarize” it because it broke App Store rules, in this case by running in the background, even though it wasn’t in the official App Store.
It’s something Apple says a lot, but the reality is that its App Store review process often puts users at risk. We’re not ready for all the fake apps that Apple puts in the App Store because we’ve been taught to trust them fully.
In a forum thread, Apple expert Sw1tcher said, “Inexperienced users have been getting tricked into downloading apps from Apple’s App Store that could expose their data, steal their credentials, and worse for years.” He then went on to share a long list of fake and scam apps that Apple has checked out, reviewed, and then approved for the official App Store over the years.
On the other hand, Mac users have been “sideloading” apps since 1984 and are fine.
We hope that the US will pass similar rules once Apple stops fighting the DMA and does the right thing. Even better, Apple won’t be able to say that it’s not safe or that it can’t be done because the whole EU will show that it can and is safe.