Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – This year, Apple replaced the Lightning port on the iPhone 15 with USB-C. Similar changes are expected to appear in the next version of the iPhone, making Apple’s proud product even more similar to an Android cellphone.

Apple has to make the iPhone more like an Android cellphone because of new environmental regulations passed by the European Union (EU).

The adoption of USB-C as a standard for all electronic devices is just one of the myriad impacts of the EU’s latest regulations. Not to mention, the regulatory shock of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The DMA identified certain companies as “gatekeepers,” with Apple and Google as primary targets.

These gatekeepers are forced to open up their services to those of other companies for the sake of a competitive market. One of the impacts is that Apple must allow sideloading on the iPhone or installation of applications from outside the Apple App Store.

According to trusted “leaker” analyst Mark Gurman, iPhones in the EU will have the ability to sideload apps in the first half of 2024.

Initially, rumors suggested this could happen sooner, with an expected release of iOS 17.2 sometime next month. However, there seems to be a misinterpretation.

DMA is a regulation that applies only in the European Union. Apple is under no obligation to follow DMA regulations in any other region, including the United States.

Apple found a loophole in this regulation. According to Android Authoritythe sideloading feature will be limited by a geographic lock system (geo-lock) only in the EU market.

Applications outside the App Store

Sideloading Android has been around since the first day Android phones were released. Because Android is an open source operating system, Google and all Android OEM partners must allow users to install any apps they like from any source they choose.

Applications found in the Play Store have gone through several checks to ensure they are safe for users to use. Apps found on the web or in loosely regulated third-party app stores may not be as safe.

However, after clicking through the many warnings, users can sideload whatever they want.

When the iPhone gets this capability, it will almost certainly become less secure. Apple even though it strictly regulates the App Store to prevent certain types of apps from appearing in its app store.

But with sideloading the iPhone, Apple’s rejected apps are no longer off-limits. This can cause problems that iPhone users have never faced before.

Additionally, from a business standpoint, sideloading will allow developers to avoid the fees Apple quotes for hosting games and other apps on the App Store. The cost is not small. The costs that application developers must be willing to set aside for Apple can reach 30 percent.

Games like Fortnite, for example, loses millions of dollars every year to Apple simply for the privilege of being in the App Store. Here’s why Fortnite leaving the App Store and Play Store.

At this time, to play Fortnite on iPhone, you need to use the service cloud gaming, like Xbox Cloud Gaming. However, with the possibility of sideloading, Epic Games can make Fortnite as easy to play on iPhone as it is on Android without sparing a dime for Apple.

It is unclear how significant these changes will be in the long term. However, with Epic Games, Spotify, and other companies suing Apple and Google over the exorbitant fees they incur to open their respective app stores, we will likely see a mass exodus of companies from the App Store to the sideloading model.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(dem)