Credit: Mishaal Rahman via AndroidPolice
- A reliable leaker says iPhone sideloading will come to the EU in the first half of 2024.
- So far, all signs point to this being only available in the EU, at least at first.
- Apple is making this change because of new competition regulations in the territory.
This year, Apple finally dropped its proprietary port known as Lightning and brought USB-C to the iPhone 15 series. Apple didn’t say as much during the launch event for those phones, but it needed to make this change due to new environmental regulations passed by the EU.
Truth be told, using USB-C as the standard for all electronic devices was just one of the EU’s recent regulations. Another is the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This law identifies certain companies as “gatekeepers,” of which Apple and Google are some examples. These gatekeepers need to open up their services to other companies’ services to prevent stifling competitors from establishing themselves in the market. This means that, eventually, Apple is going to need to allow iPhone sideloading, or the installation of apps from outside the Apple App Store.
