Apple will soon allow developers to distribute their apps on their websites

Reluctantly, Apple is opening up iOS to new ways to distribute apps for EU users and developers. Soon, you will even be able to download apps from the developer’s website, no app stores involved. This will come with certain requirements, however.

First things first. Apple is enabling a new category of app store, one that lists apps and games solely from the developer. This will be a boon for publishers like Epic, which runs the Epic Games Store on Windows and macOS (and has had its fair share of legal tussles with Apple).

Another change will affect services whose business model relies on in-app purchases and subscriptions. Developers can already link to external web pages where the user can pay for such things – circumventing Apple’s 30% tax in the process. And now developers are allowed to create custom designs for promotions, discounts and other deals. Previously, they had to use Apple-designed templates, but those are now optional.

Finally, later this Spring, authorized developers in the EU will be able to distribute apps directly from their web site – i.e. users will be able to download an installation file like they can on macOS.

These apps will have access to system functionality, backing up and restoring user data and more. There’s a catch, however (isn’t there always a catch with Apple?).

This will be available for developers that have been enrolled in the Apple Developer Program for at least two continuous years in the EU and (the biggest hoop to jump through) have an app that has one million first annual installs on iOS in the EU in the prior calendar year.

Translation, this will only work for large companies sharing their apps, small devs are out of luck. There are other requirements, but they sound more reasonable – devs need to be transparent about data collection (that’s more of an EU thing), they can only distribute apps from their own developer account and only on their own website and so on. You can find the full details here. It’s not clear whether the grace period of 30 days for phones leaving the EU applies to web downloads too, however.

Source