The apple app store is set to lose its place as the only app store allowed on iOS and Mac. The debate over whether or not Apple’s control over its store resulted in a monopoly has been fought out in the courts for the past 4 years. Breaking up monopolies to improve the health of a market is a classic objective of healthy economies, but iPhones are not a macroeconomic system, so should the same rules apply?
Opening up iOS to sideloading could lead to a slew of issues for the ecosystem that was built with the intention of being a ‘walled garden’. The court case in the US was recently dismissed, but the EU courts have yet to rule, and the recent signals on enforcing USB C ports and the wider Digital Markets Act suggest the ruling may not be as clear cut.
