iOS 26.2 Beta 1 reveals alternative app stores are now available in Japan



Generally, iOS only allows apps to be installed from the official Apple App Store. However, in order to comply with the Digital Markets Act, the EU allows apps to be 'sideloaded' from alternative app stores other than the App Store. It turns out that iOS 26.2 Beta 1, released for developers on November 5, 2025, allows apps to be installed from alternative app stores in Japan as well.



iOS 26.2 to Allow Third-Party App Stores in Japan Ahead of Regulatory Deadline - MacRumors
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/11/05/ios-26-2-third-party-app-stores-japan/

Japanese users have reported that it is possible to download the app from alternative app stores such as the Epic Games Store and AltStore PAL.



At the time of writing, the developer beta version is still available, so it's not certain that alternative app stores will be available. However, with the official release of iOS 26.2 scheduled for December, sideloading on iOS may become a reality in Japan.

In Japan, the ' Act on Promotion of Competition Relating to Specified Software Used on Smartphones (Smartphone Software Competition Promotion Act)' was enacted in June 2025. Article 8 of this act stipulates the following:

Article 8 (1) A Designated Business Operator (limited to one that has received designation related to an App Store) shall not engage in any of the following acts against an Individual App Business Operator with respect to the App Store related to its designation; provided, however, that with regard to the acts set forth in items (i) to (iii) inclusive (excluding cases where the Individual Software set forth in said items is a browser), this shall not apply when the act is necessary for ensuring cybersecurity, etc., with respect to a smartphone in which said App Store is embedded, and it is difficult to achieve that purpose through other acts.
(i) When an Individual App Provider provides goods or services through Individual Software that it provides, engaging in the acts listed below with regard to Prepaid Payment Instruments (meaning Prepaid Payment Instruments as defined in Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Act on Settlement of Funds (Act No. 59 of 2009)) and other payment instruments (hereinafter referred to simply as 'Payment Instruments' in this paragraph) that are used by smartphone users to pay for those goods or services:
(a) Making it a condition of providing Individual Software through the App Store that the Individual App Provider not use any payment management services (meaning services that enable smartphone users to use payment methods while Individual Software is running; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph) other than the payment management services provided by the Designated Business Operator (including its Subsidiaries, etc.; the same applies hereinafter in this Article).
(b) In addition to what is set forth in (a), preventing an Individual App Business from using payment management services other than those provided by the Designated Business or from enabling smartphone users to use payment methods without using payment management services.
(ii) When an Individual Applicant Provider provides goods or services through Individual Software that it provides (hereinafter referred to in this paragraph as 'Individual Software') and provides the same goods or services through a webpage or Individual Software other than the Individual Software (hereinafter referred to in this paragraph as 'Related Webpages, etc.') (including cases specified by Cabinet Order as being equivalent thereto), engaging in any of the following acts:
(a) Making it a condition of providing the Individual Software through the app store that the prices and other information of goods or services provided through Related Web Pages, etc. shall not be displayed while the Individual Software is running (including attaching conditions that deny or restrict the use of the function that allows viewing Related Web Pages, etc. via the Individual Software, as specified by the Rules of the Japan Fair Trade Commission).
(b) In addition to the acts set forth in (a), interfering with the provision of goods or services to users of smartphones that use Individual Software through related web pages, etc.
(iii) performing any of the following acts with respect to a browser engine (meaning software that constitutes part of a browser and processes information related to web pages into a state that allows it to be viewed; the same applies hereinafter in this item) that is a component of Individual Software provided by the Individual Application Provider:
(a) Making it a condition for providing Individual Software through the App Store that the browser engine provided by the Designated Business Operator be a component of the Individual Software.
(b) In addition to those listed in (a), preventing the use of browser engines other than those provided by the designated business operator as components of the individual software.
(iv) To make it a condition of providing Individual Software through the app store that the method of user verification (meaning the identification of a smartphone user by a code or other information when the smartphone user uses Individual Software) provided by the Individual App Provider be displayed while the Individual Software is running.



Additionally, in August 2025, the Japan Fair Trade Commission announced the 'Guidelines for the Smartphone Software Competition Promotion Act,' which explicitly prohibits platform operators such as Apple and Google from blocking or restricting the use of alternative app stores or payment systems on their own mobile operating systems.

Guidelines on the Smartphone Software Competition Promotion Act
(PDF file) https://www.jftc.go.jp/houdou/pressrelease/2025/jul/250729_01-4_smartphone_shishin.pdf

The timing is perfect, as the Smartphone Software Competition Promotion Act will come into effect on December 18, 2025, and Apple plans to release iOS 26.2 in mid-December 2025. Epic Games already offers its own app store, the Epic Games Store, for Android, and has announced that it will launch an iOS version in Japan by the end of 2025.

Epic Games Store's Android and iOS versions have been released, and the mobile version of 'Fortnite' is back on smartphones for the first time in four years, but the iOS version is only available within the EU - GIGAZINE



Another alternative app store, AltStore PAL, has also reportedly been set to launch in Japan, Australia, and Brazil by the end of 2025.

Alternative iPhone app store 'AltStore PAL' to launch in Japan, Australia, and Brazil in the second half of 2025 - GIGAZINE

Related Posts:

in Software,   Web Service,   Smartphone, Posted by log1i_yk