I should be able to run any software I see fit on a piece of hardware I own without a corporation acting as a gatekeeper. I hope the EU finds this unacceptable because it’s frankly bullshit.
If this is a priority, buy different hardware.
You never purchased an iOS or iPadOS device with Apple promising unlimited side loading.
And speaking of which, unless you’re a member of the EU, no sideload for you.
I know all this, still want Apple to get dragged kicking and screaming to a place that’s not so damned anticompetitive.
I feel that you’re just trying to stick it to Apple and thus have discredited any comments you might make on the topic.
How would that even work? Apps distributed outside the App Store would not (necessarily) be submitted to Apple to review, and the developer of sideloaded apps may not be identifiable to charge fees too.
I suppose they could mandate some sort of signing system for sideloaded executables but I have a feeling the EU would consider that a further abuse.
It will all come out in the wash, but if the rumours are true Apple seems to be going about this in the worst way possible.
On macOS, an app has to be signed by the developer and then “notarized” by Apple, and the notarization involves some sort of automatic malware scanning. It isn’t a human review. You can circumvent these requirements as a user, but not as a developer. I presume this is as far as Apple might be able to go on iOS in the EU.
