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- Apple is Still Against Sideloading
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Good morning! ☀️ *Tim Cook voice*
Today, we’re discussing Apple’s stance on sideloading, Apple Vision Pro delay, Casetify being sued, and more!
Estimated reading time: 3.4 minutes
📊 Poll
In the last poll, I asked: Are you more likely to respond to iMessage vs Text Message?
Closer than I expected tbh
Here were some of my favorite replies:
Yes - “If it’s from someone I don’t know I’m more likely to respond to an iMessage, just seems less scammy.”
No - “I find the green bubble vs blue bubble bias very juvenile. I prioritize messages based on who the person is and not the color of their text message. ”
No Difference - “I can’t be bothered with third party messaging apps, so I don’t use them. So if someone has an android, it’s good old fashioned sms. No bother to me.“
This week: Would you feel safe downloading an iPhone app outside of the App Store? More on this below.
Would you feel safe downloading apps outside the App Store? |
📲 Apple Still isn’t a Fan of Sideloading
Last week, we discussed how sideloading is coming to EU iPhones in 2024. And while some might assume that Apple is pro-sideloading, it does not appear that way.
For a refresher, sideloading is simply the act of installing applications from outside of the App Store. Just like we can do on the Mac.
The European Union’s recently signed Digital Markets Act requires that what it calls gatekeepers – Apple and other operators of app stores – must allow for sideloading, or letting people put apps on their phones from outside of those App Stores.
At the moment, iPhones can only download and run apps downloaded from the official store; Apple says that is an important protection, but critics argue that it gives it too much power over the device.
In a new report from The Independent, Apple’s head of security engineering & architecture, Ivan Krstić, explained why Apple invests so much into security and also discusses the misunderstanding with sideloading.
Krstić does not agree that sideloading will give users more choice about what apps they use and how they get them. He said this:
That’s a great misunderstanding – and one we have tried to explain over and over.
The reality of what the alternative distribution requirements enable is that software that users in Europe need to use – sometimes business software, other times personal software, social software, things that they want to use – may only be available outside of the store, alternatively distributed.
In that case, those users don’t have a choice to get that software from a distribution mechanism that they trust. And so, in fact, it is simply not the case that users will retain the choice they have today to get all of their software from the App Store. [..]
We do not see ourselves as set against governments. That is not what any of this work is about. But we do see ourselves as having a duty to defend our users from threats, whether common or in some cases, truly grave.
So, based on Krstić’s views (which I agree with), it does not seem likely that Apple will expand sideloading outside of the EU.
The reality is, sideloading will likely open up a whole new world of hacking, phishing, key logging, ransomware, etc that has never been seen before on the iPhone.
And then all of a sudden, the iPhone is not the easiest and most secure phone to use. All in an effort to cater to an extremely small percentage of global iPhone users who would ever bother installing apps outside of the App Store.
Imagine trying to troubleshoot your 87-year-old grandmother’s iPhone because she installed several malicious games (with clickbait titles) from outside of the App Store - and now her Apple ID account has been hijacked. No thank you.
Sideloading for the Mac makes sense, but not for the iPhone.
🥽 Apple Vision Pro Still Not Ready
The Apple Vision Pro headset will be the biggest release of 2024 (imo), but it might not be coming in January like Apple was hoping, according to Bloomberg.
Apple planned for Apple Vision Pro to be released in January 2024. However, the company is still preparing distribution plans for the product and doing final device testing
Mark Gurman now expects the device to debut “sometime around March”
Expect Apple to host another media event in the Spring, ahead of the product’s release, to show off apps & features that weren’t presented at the WWDC 2023 unveiling
iOS 17.2 Beta 2 included the “spatial recording” feature for iPhone 15 users, allowing them to record spatial videos that can be viewed “in 3D” on the Vision Pro
Casetify is Getting Sued
Dbrand, the major iPhone/device skin company, is suing Casetify over claims that they copied their “Teardown” skins and cases. Here’s a full thread on everything copied, along with a video of everything.
Casetify responded with a cookie-cutter response on X and it made things even worse for them.
I’m sure Casetify will blame this on a designer and brush it under the rug even more, but YIKES! This is a bad look. Expect more to come from this soon.
Other Tidbits
Apple released a new stop-motion Christmas ad that was shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max! The tagline is: “Creativity has the power to change the way we see each other, and the world. Sometimes, seeing things through a new lens can make all the difference.“
Apple also shared a Behind-the-Scenes video showcasing how the ad was shot. Very cool!
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