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With iOS 17.4, Apple began supporting alternative app marketplaces in the European Union. The first of these stores will launch soon, giving consumers a new way to install apps without using the App Store.
Riley Testut, a developer known for the Game Boy Advance emulator GBA4iOS, is working on AltStore, one of several alternative app marketplaces.as pointed out by tech crunch, app marketplaces like AltStore will be able to monetize in ways that are currently not possible. AltStore does not make money through paid apps or ads, but instead accepts payments through Patreon.
To use the first AltStore app developed by Testut, customers must pledge $1 to $3 per month through Patreon. Video game emulator Delta is initially free, and clipboard manager Clip requires a $1 pledge. After that, you will need to pay $3 per month to download and use the beta versions of Delta and Clip.
With Patreon, Testut is now able to offer subscription-based pricing that doesn’t offer Apple a 15-30 minute discount. Patreon collects 5-8% of the revenue you earn, plus a payment processing fee ranging from 3-5%, depending on your date of joining Patreon.
Patreon’s fees are lower than Apple’s, but Apple will charge a core technology fee of €0.50 for each additional install of an AltStore app once the number of initial installs exceeds 1 million per year. Core Technology Fees (CTFs) make it risky for free apps to be distributed through alternative app marketplaces, but Apple recently announced a solution to prevent free apps from going viral and going bankrupt with high fees. announced that they are working on it.
Once AltStore is up and running and Testut is working properly, other developers will be able to distribute their apps through AltStore. They can choose to use Patreon, like Testut uses for their app, or another alternative. Patreon has the advantage of offering reward slots, subscriber-only blog posts, and other alternative content, and can even cap the number of subscribers to avoid Apple’s CTF.
Testut plans to launch AltStore once it receives final approval from Apple, and like all app marketplaces, AltStore will be limited to the European Union. The app can only be installed on iPhones and not iPads via alternative means in eligible European countries. In other regions, there are no changes to the App Store to allow installation of alternative apps.
Last week, the European Commission (EC) launched a non-compliance investigation into Apple to determine whether the changes Apple has made are sufficient to meet the requirements of the Digital Markets Act. If the EC determines that Apple’s updates are not sufficient, Apple may be forced to make some changes to the rules or core technology fees.
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