Apple had already lost the battle of alternative apps. Altstore just knew the last blow

The war between Altstore and Apple is a story of victories for alternative stores. In April 2024 we tried ALTSTORE PALthe first alternative to App Store that reached iOS after the entry into force of the European DMA. Although the store had been available since 2019, being able to settle from a computer.

The app developers have just tightened the forearm on this pulse against Apple. The application store now allows you to install something even more curious than a console emulator: an app store.

The beginnings of Altstore. To understand Altstore’s victory, it is convenient to meet his recent past. In 2019 Altstore was publishedan alternative store for the iPhone. The objective was clear and completely outside what Apple considered in its terms of use: allowing users to download emulators.

The installation method was simple, although it required a PC. We had to download a .dmg in the MAC that acted as an installation server for the apps store. Made the process, and notifying Apple that Altstore came from “a non -reliable developer”, the application could be installed.

One of its main limitations had to do with the development environment of the emulators. In iOS, JIT is needed (a compiler that allows optimizing its drastic performance), a tool that Apple did not allow in this type of apps.

Apple responded with forcefulness. Apple didn’t take too long in Block some of the emulators that Altstore brought to his operating system. The company, since its inception, has been against emulation, Eliminating even your application store Those who have been published.

With the arrival of the new digital market regulations, Emulators were no longer prohibited in App Store. Because, downloading a copy of a non -lawful game is illegal, but playing your own copies in an emulator does not violate any law. It is a ball that remains on each user’s roof.

The first great victory. In the middle of the storm, Altstore managed to get a font after the entry into force of the DMA. The app could be installed without major problem From the iPhone and its developers signed alliances with giants like Epic Games. The latter allowed Altstore to become completely free.

The door opened not only to emulators, but also to clipboard apps, apps for download torrents, and even virtualization of classic operating systems such as Windows 95.

A store … that is installed from the store. When euphoria seemed to be able to go anymore, Altstore has moved again. At the beginning of this piece we talked about JIT, the key compiler to execute the Altstore apps. The app developers have returned the classic Altstore to iOS. An alternative store that can be installed … from the alternative store itself. In other words: Altstore Classic can be installed from Altstore.

Beyond tongue twisters, this is one of the biggest victories of an Apple apps store. The reason? The classic Altstore allows the same thing that allowed the original app in 2019: install the apps that Apple did not want.

Image | Xataka

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