Apple to allow iOS app downloads directly from developer websites

Upcoming changes to app distribution on iOS may soon make the App Store a thing of the past, at least in Europe.

Apple announced today that a "software update later this spring" will enable developers to offer direct iOS app downloads from a website. However, only European developers will be able to distribute apps through a website. 

There's another catch, too: Apple must provide specific APIs that "facilitate the distribution of [developer] apps from the web." These APIs are also required to make the apps work with an iPhone or iPad and will allow users to back up and restore apps. However, these APIs will be provided only to "authorized developers."

To become eligible for web distribution, software developers must meet a list of requirements, including enrolling in Apple's Apple Developer Program (ADP), be a member "of good standing" in the ADP for a minimum of two years, and have an app with more than one million installs in its first year. There are more requirements listed on Apple's website here. It seems that Apple will still control who can distribute apps via the web, at least for the time being.

This new direct download method of app distribution will be available alongside alternative app stores, which were made mandatory under the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), a law requiring smartphone manufacturers to open their devices to third-party app installs (among many other things).  Apple has come under fire recently for heavily pushing back against the DMA and attempting to skirt around its requirements in various ways.

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