How did the third-party iOS app store 'AltStore PAL' come about?
As Apple has approved third-party app stores other than the official App Store in order to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the ' AltStore PAL ' service will start on April 17, 2024. Developer
Introducing AltStore | Riley Testut
https://rileytestut.com/blog/2019/09/25/introducing-altstore/
Introducing AltStore PAL | Riley Testut
https://rileytestut.com/blog/2024/04/17/introducing-altstore-pal/
AltStore Goes to Absurd Lengths for Third-Party iPhone Apps - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-20/altstore-goes-to-absurd-lengths-for-third-party-iphone-apps
Testu has been working on iOS emulator apps for over 10 years, and spent five years developing the Nintendo game emulator 'Delta,' but 'Delta' was rejected from the App Store.
Testu, who wanted to somehow get 'Delta' to users, came up with the idea of releasing it via the alternative app store 'AltStore'.
Unofficial jailbreak-free iOS app store 'AltStore' developed and preview version released - GIGAZINE
Although Apple does not allow the installation of apps from any source other than the official app store, the App Store, there are many unofficial app stores, including AltStore. However, what made AltStore different was that it tricked people into thinking they were installing test apps on a trial basis, which allowed them to play emulators that Apple does not approve of on their iOS devices.
According to the economic magazine Wall Street Journal, AltStore had been downloaded more than 2 million times by 2023.
In 2024, Apple changed its policy to allow third-party app stores in the EU region in order to comply with DMA, which gave Testu and his team the opportunity to make AltStore a 'public app store.'
In order to be released as a third-party app store, the app needs to be 'notarized' by Apple, so Testu and his team attended Apple's developer meetings and waited for the notarization.
However, before AltStore could be 'notarized,' Apple reversed course and allowed emulator apps to be released on the App Store.
If 'Delta' could be distributed on the App Store, Testu's goal would be achieved. However, Testu and his team did not change their plans and obtained notarization and released it as a third-party app store 'AltStore PAL' because they wanted to welcome future apps that Apple does not approve, such as the clipboard manager Clip, to AltStore. This is why the exact same 'Delta' is distributed on AltStore PAL and the App Store.
In addition, because Apple initially required payment of 0.5 euros (about 85 yen) for each annual installation as a core technology fee, AltStore PAL is a subscription app that costs 1.5 euros (about 254 yen) per year, but it has already been downloaded more than 100,000 times.
Furthermore, 'Delta' is so popular that it has reached number one in the free app rankings in the United States, and an iPad version is also scheduled to be released.
Apple's No. 1 emulator app 'Delta' to be released for iPad - GIGAZINE
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in Software, Posted by logc_nt